FreeWave Precision Ag: Connecting Farm Operations
FreeWave Technologies’ Precision Ag solutions help connect farm operations in an intelligent way. John Stratton, Software Product Line Manager, joins Doug Draper to discuss these emerging technologies. FreeWave’s remote and rugged condition monitoring and communication tools use long range radio equipment, edge computing devices, and comprehensive data analytics to improve decision making cycles and operational success.
What is Precision Ag? John describes how data monitoring sensors implemented throughout farm operations can reduce expensive inputs while improving decision making and increasing yields and ROI. With much of the Industrial Internet of Things there is a cloud component, though with the remote locations of many areas of a farm’s operation and the lack of a reliable internet access there, it also makes sense to use edge computing where appropriate - analyzing data at the edge of the network.
Farm operations are diverse, and so are the applications of this technology. In terms of productivity and profits, precision ag solutions help with retrieving data that people never previously had access to, or making data much easier to gather - and update the data much more frequently. As a result, this helps with improving and shortening decision cycles.
Some examples might be in herd management, where each cow might have a collar with RFID or GPS to track their location, temperature, etc to improve feeding consistency and reducing stress on the animals. During growing season, monitoring soil moisture can help improve the effectiveness of center pivot irrigation and remote well pads. One study by Machine Design found that using automated equipment might be able to reduce agrochemical inputs by 90%. For harvested plant product storage, monitoring and maintaining targets temperatures and humidity levels is a crucial application, whether it’s for keeping hay from spontaneously combusting or keeping grains and potatoes in perfect condition for market.
“The great thing about remote monitoring is that you can tell yourself what you need, without having to tell everyone else.” Individuals can get custom information specifically relevant to what they are responsible for handling, increasing insights without drowning in irrelevant noise.
Farming is always evolving with technology, and the future holds more opportunity in connecting real world data with edge or cloud based services for analysis. Hybrid connectivity is possible for certain types of data and ranges in order to build more resiliency. Having this data available at your fingertips makes a difference by helping farmers make better decisions, and faster. Instead of weeks, decisions can be made within the same day an issue arises, supporting operational uptime and productivity, shortening the decision cycle or even making it automatic.