The Blog

This sensor tracks fruit size as it grows.

As a agriculture tech geek, I’m continually fascinated by sensor technology–especially crop monitoring…wirelessly. Yes, some of it is high buck stuff right now. But the future potential for all crops exists.

To this end, check out this new Waspmote sensor board from Libelium. Currently targeted for high-end crops like wine grapes and greenhouse crops, it can monitor info from 10 sensors and 14 environmental parameters at one time.

This new Sensor Board for the Waspmote platform extends the award-winning Waspmote platform by supporting the measurement of the following key parameters:

• air temperature
• air humidity
• soil temperature
• soil moisture
• leaf wetness
• atmospheric pressure
• solar radiation
• trunk/stem/fruit diameter
• wind speed/direction
• rainfall

The board allows more than ten sensors to be connected at one time. Libelium’s CTO, David Gascón says “A Waspmote sensor network using the new board can measure irrigation effectiveness, crop growth and micro-climatic conditions as well as detect adverse weather events”.

Local variations in soil, drainage and evaporation can mean that irrigation is not uniformly effective. For example it is possible that, within a vineyard, some vine roots are too dry while others are waterlogged. If three soil moisture sensors are simultaneously placed at different depths the local water retention in the soil can be assessed. By measuring evapotranspiration it is possible to work out how much irrigation water is being actually absorbed by the plants. Using sensor data to automatically adjust irrigation to match local conditions conserves water and is equally applicable to vineyards, greenhouses and golf courses. Avoiding over-watering also helps prevent certain crop diseases including rot, fungi and bacteria which thrive in wet conditions.

Precision agriculture aims to optimise production by taking account of local soil and climatic variations. David Gascón says, “This new board enables vineyards to be controlled with a finer granularity than existing precision agriculture techniques”.

He explains, “Accurate dendrometers, capable of measuring changes in diameter of a few micrometres, allow the measurement of water intake of individual vines from irrigation. Using a PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) sensor checks the conditions for photosynthesis”.

The Agricultural Sensor Board is also highly applicable to greenhouses where the creation and control of microclimates is important to the growth of delicate crops such as exotic fruit. For mushroom farming, Waspmote’s Agricultural Sensor and Gas Sensor boards can be used together to measure and control soil moisture and temperature, CO2 level and air temperature.

The board also supports meteorological sensors such as air thermometer, hygrometer, anemometer, wind vane and rain gauges (pluviometer). If the temperature falls below a threshold, heating can be automatically started by the wireless sensor network. Meteorological sensors can trigger warnings in the event of adverse weather such as high wind or torrential rain.

Waspmote does not need to monitor values continuously and can spend long periods in a power saving mode. However if wind exceeds a threshold the anemometer will send a signal to wake up the Waspmote board. In hibernate mode the board consumes just 0.7 microamperes current resulting in outstanding battery performance. Should continuous measurement be required, a socket enables the board to be powered by a solar panel also available from Libelium.

And, you can get this info on your cell phone.

Harold Reetz and Jess Lowenberg-Deboer have been named co-recipients of the Legacy Award in the PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence program for 2010.

Harold Reetz has been a champion of technology and precision agriculture throughout his four decade-long career. Starting out in Extension in the Purdue University system in the 1970s, he assumed numerous leadership roles over the years and worked tirelessly as a champion for improving agronomic practices through education, research, outreach, and collaboration with like-minded growers and researchers from around the world. Reetz founded the InfoAg Conference in the mid-1990s as a way of getting people together to share experiences and build a networked community of vendors, users, and service providers. Now with Reetz Agronomics, Harold continues to champion the role of precision technologies in maximizing yield and minimizing environmental impact from crop production.

Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer is currently Associate Dean, Director of International Programs, and Professor of Agricultural Economics in the College of Agriculture at Purdue University, but his prior work in precision agriculture economics played an invaluable role in the growth of precision agriculture practices. His contributions included original research into the profitability of every aspect of precision agriculture, including tracking the adoption of technology at the farm and service provider level. He has published 55 articles in refereed journals, two books, and chapters in six other books, and his work has taken him to over 40 countries.

Both will be honored in Denver next month at the 10th International Conference on Precision Agriculture.

Corn genetics costs are driving more farmers to seek savings during planting season. And precision farming tools, such as planter row shutoff, are delivering fairly quick payback in many cases, depending on farm size and field shapes.

I spoke with central Iowa grower Steve Snyder this week to find out about his first planting season using row shutoff. “When my son Jon and I checked into the possible payback of the Ag Leader setup (Integra monitor, SureVac Electric Row Shutoff), the calculator said one year for our operation. But like Jon said ‘so what if it takes two,’ that’s still a no-brainer.”

While just two weeks removed from parking the planter for the season, he hasn’t had time to calculate actual seed savings for 2010. “I know we saved seed overall, especially on irregular-shaped fields. Before we had individual row shutoff, we used to plant 8 rows (half a planter) when we only needed two rows to finish the field. The other big savings I’m sure we’ll see is extra yield, because when you double plant, you basically end up with zero yield in those areas,” he says.

Snyder has two tractors with auto steer, and just planted his third season with a 16-row John Deere 1770NT CCS. “The main issue we were having with the planter was keeping population consistent due to ground slippage when running at higher vacuum settings. We solved that by adding Precision Planting eSet vacuum disks and Rawson hydraulic drives,” he says.

One added benefit that Steve hadn’t realized until using row shutoff was in time savings. “For 28 or so years we’ve always come to the end of the field, stop, lift, turn, stop and set it down, then go. Now, we don’t stop at all, and can lift the planter at any time and set it down early and never worry about double planting. That allows us to plant more acres in a day, and I’m much less tired thanks to auto steering.”

Snyder likes the simplicity of the SureVac set up and operation. It simply replaces the existing vacuum covers on each row. Electronics cut off the vacuum at the top of the seed disk to stop planting while seeds fall back into the meter’s seed pool. When the shutoff device pulls away, vacuum is restored and planting continues.

“With auto steer and row shutoffs, I can get by with a 16-row planter because I can cover ground really well. It’s really made planting faster and more enjoyable again,” Snyder adds.

For more information, visit

SureVac Shutoff http://www.agleader.com/products/seedcommand/

With the rapidly changing GPS/GNSS satellite technology, it’s smart to do your homework and understand the facts to find what best suits your farm (see the links below). Auburn University’s Daniel Mullenix, a research biosystems engineer, offered his advice recently on www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com.

When considering purchasing GPS/GNSS technology for your ag operation, it’s best to do your homework. As with most technology, Precision Ag technology is rapidly evolving and changing to better suit the needs of producers and allow them to become more efficient and better stewards of the environment.

The “buzz” words and hot topics of a few years ago may now have been replaced with “later and greater” gadgets. This is the case with GPS/GNSS technology. Recently, new signals have been established such as L2C and L5, which increase reliability of navigation and guidance operations. Likewise, manufacturers of guidance and navigational devices are now producing units capable of utilizing other countries satellite systems in conjunction with GPS. For example, several manufacturers make guidance receivers that are GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) capable; meaning they can utilize US GPS satellites as well as others (e.g. Russia’s GLONASS satellite system, etc).

This technology holds great advantages in that a GNSS receiver can utilize almost twice the number of satellites a GPS-only receiver is able to use. Additionally, cellular modems can now be used to obtain base station data via CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Stations) or RTN (Real-Time Networks); increasing a producer’s distance from a base station from line-of-sight to over 25 miles when using RTK.

More satellite availability, new GPS signals, and cellular technology potentially means:

• less time for an RTK fix
• not having to wait for satellites to come into view
• not losing an RTK fix when against a tree line or other obstructions
• not having down time during hours of the day when GPS satellite geometry is poor
• increased distances from a base station
• no need for a personal base station
• greater mobility and efficiency

When investing in GPS/GNSS technology, consider:

• Is this system best for my operation, considering what’s on the market (GPS vs. GNSS, personal base station vs. CORS of RTN)?
• Will this system utilize other countries satellite systems so I get maximum satellite coverage?
• Can this system employ new GPS satellite signals (L2C and L5) so I get maximum reliability?
• Will this system allow me to be as mobile as I need to be (line-of-sight vs. 25-mile distance from a base station with a cellular modem)?
• Can I receive firmware updates for this system so I stay abreast of evolving technology?

For more information, visit www.alabamaprecisionagonline.com and see: Update on GPS: New Civilian Accessible Signals – L1C, L2C, and L5, Update on GPS: Explanation of GNSS, and RTK Networks: Cellular Modem Communication Technology.