Securing the Agricultural Chain – From Field to Silo with MAGUS Layered Protection

Grain is more than a crop – it’s the foundation of food security and economic stability. Yet from the moment it leaves the field until it is stored in silos, it faces constant risks: theft during harvest, tampering along transport routes, and break-ins at storage sites. For one agricultural cooperative, these challenges meant significant losses every year. The answer was not more guards or taller fences, but a smarter, layered protection strategy. By integrating MAGUS multi-sensor technologies – from radar and seismic sensors in the fields, to fiber optics and LiDAR at the silos – the cooperative built a seamless shield around its entire value chain. What follows is a look at how they secured the journey of grain from field to silo.

 

MAGUS Layered Solution

1. Field Perimeter & Access Roads

• • Radar surveillance monitors wide, open farmland for moving vehicles and groups 
  • Buried seismic sensors (GeoPS) along dirt access roads detect vehicles approaching fields outside scheduled harvest hours
  • MAGUS CC alerts operators in real time, showing exact intrusion paths

2. Harvest Transport Security

• • Fiber-optic cables (FOPS) along transport corridors detect tampering with fences or truck rest areas
  • Microwave barriers protect loading points, triggering alarms if unauthorized movement occurs near parked trucks

3. Silo Perimeter Defense

• • Fence protection (FPS PRO): detects cutting, climbing, or shaking on the silo perimeter fence
  • Microwave barriers form a double layer around the silos, providing pre-warnings 
  • LiDAR towers at corners to distinguish between wildlife and human intruders—even in fog or rain

4. Unified Command

• • All events—field radar tracks, road sensors, silo fence alarms—are displayed on a unified Command and Control Platform- MAGUS CC
  • Operators can verify with live thermal/optical video and dispatch local patrols or police.

 

Application Example: Harvest Season Intrusion

• At 03:00 AM, two vehicles attempt to enter sunflower fields through an unused dirt track.
• Detection chain:
  • GeoPS sensors register ground vibration
  • Radar confirms two moving vehicles approaching
  • LiDAR at silo entrance verifies unauthorized movement
• Response: Alert sent to cooperative’s mobile security unit. Vehicles intercepted before accessing crop storage zones.

Result: No loss of produce, attempted theft prevented.

Benefits

• Reduced theft losses by 80% during harvest season.
• Early detection: Intruders identified before reaching silos
• Lower false alarms: LiDAR and sensor fusion distinguish animals from humans/vehicles
• Scalable: Same system applied at other silo facilities across the region.

 

Conclusion

By layering radar, seismic sensors, fiber optics, microwave barriers, LiDAR, and fence protection into one integrated MAGUS CC platform, the cooperative now protects its full value chain—from field harvest to silo storage—ensuring food security and economic stability.