It is vital to ensure that technology advances in the agricultural sector were “relevant, practical, effective and, ultimately, adopted” and did not simply produce research papers that “collect dust on book shelves”
Mark Allison, Chief Executive, Elders
BENEFITS
Water level
The farmer can see the current water level in each tank and how much it fluctuates when cattle drink, as well as how long it takes to be replenished afterwards.
This can save considerable time and resources, as the farmer doesn’t need to physically inspect the tanks unless the green location dot goes ‘RED’ and the farmer receives an email advice. In which case he/she cane take the appropriate action.
Water flow
Water flow informs the farmer, based on flow rate and volume, as to the integrity of the water line. For example, if the water is flowing and all downstream tanks are full, there must be a leak in that section of the line, requiring repair, or a tank is overflowing, requiring float adjustment.
Again, these incidents would show ‘RED’ location dots and the farmer would receive an email advice. All of this information is delivered to the farmer’s mobile device in virtual real time.
As an example, when we deployed water flow sensors on the first two lines on a property, it showed that the farmer was losing over 95,000 litres a week from just those two lines and was not aware of it.
Ground
With an extensive range of subsurface probes that measure soil moisture and temperature at a range of depths from 100mm to 1,600mm, all accessible on its common platform, PLF can deliver immediate, detailed and cost-effective soil profiling that will save the farmer considerable time and cost, using more expensive alternate equipment, or hiring contractors.
Livestock
The farmer benefits of knowing the current health and well being of his/her livestock cannot be overestimated… If the farmer can accurately manage the location, condition, and growth rate of their livestock, they are in the best possible position to optimise farm productivity, and resultant revenue.
Crops
From continuously monitoring the soil the farmer is able to make evidence-based decisions regarding:
- When and what crops to plant –resulting in improved return on investment per hectare, per year/season.
- Irrigation timing, location and flow – cost saving resulting from better management of water, particularly line leakage, or overspraying.
- Nutrient requirements to overcome any soil quality issues, resulting in improved crop yield.
Weather
By their own nature, farms are located some distance from sizable towns and with that BOM sites.
As a result, there are often varying weather conditions at the farm as compared to what is reported by BOM (Bureau of Meteorology).
With climate taking such a significant role in our lives, it becomes increasingly important that the farmer is working with weather data as it applies to his/her specific property.
The benefits of an on-farm weather station enable the farmer to make accurate operational decisions that can deliver benefits, such as:
- Increasing production
- Reducing costs
- Improved planning re.
- – planting
- – Asset acquisition
- – Resource management
- – going to market