Today, precision farming techniques are becoming highly valuable for farmers looking to optimize their operations. Among the lineup of innovative technologies available, on-site farm weather stations stand out as a critical tool for enhancing productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.
On-site weather stations are installed directly within the farm, providing highly localized weather data specific to the field’s microclimate. Regional weather stations, on the other hand, are part of larger networks managed by government agencies or research institutions. Having local information about the weather at your field can be cost-effective compared to the regional station because of the increasing weather fluctuations every year.
- Sporadic rains can bring very different precipitation amounts for two fields even a mile away. One missed rain can change the whole picture of the growing season for a specific field. A single extra rain early in the season would change the stages for a fast-growing crop, or a late rain in August would greatly affect the yield for soybean crops.
- Having a local station during the spraying season can be game-changing in terms of planning work for herbicide or fungicide spray. It’s a valuable source of proof of information about what direction the wind was right at the field where some herbicide damage on your crop occurred after spraying. Regional stations can’t provide such detailed information for the insurance company.
- If your farm is situated in a variable landscape, higher and lower elevation fields may have temperature differences of a few degrees that can be destructive for sensitive crops in the season of late frosts. In this case, stations on elevated spots miles away would not display the actual frost event at your field, which is in a valley.
Picture 1. On-Site Weather Data Collected and Analyzed on Grower’s Account.
- Knowing the initial moisture reserves in the soil would help the farmer estimate yield targets and/or crop rotation with very good accuracy. No more guessing!
- Farmers using irrigation to achieve the maximum level of field performance need moisture probes as a must-have tool for each individual field. A field-specific approach is the only way to make irrigation on your farm maximally profitable by implementing targeted irrigation strategies, ensuring that crops receive the right amount of water at the right time. Depending on the grower’s needs, the probes can be 0.6-1.2 m with 6, 8, or 12 sensors.
- Installing more than one moisture probe can help implement VRI (Variable Rate Irrigation), to maximize the benefits of the irrigation system on your land.
Picture 2. Soil Moisture Probe Measures Moisture Content in Soil.
Picture 3. Collected Information on Weather Conditions at the Farm for Accurate Prediction of Disease Development
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