Introduction Of all the variables that can impact crop health and yield, weather is the most unpredictable. Droughts, floods, heat waves, and frost are occurring more frequently and in greater extremes. While these extreme weather conditions present a significant risk to farmers, they also impact the nearby rural communities and metropolitan areas further away. And […]

Introduction You need to get the right amount of water to crops at the right time. Water and nutrients are used most efficiently when your crops have access to the amount of water the crop needs and the soil can hold. This article describes how to use the data provided by soil moisture probes to […]

Soil moisture and its availability to support plant growth is a primary factor in crop yield. Too little moisture can result in yield loss and plant death. Too much causes root disease and wasted water.   Just as important, water is a delivery mechanism for any nutrients that are not tightly bound to the soil. […]

The latest version of ConnectedCrops provides the ability to change sensors throughout the year and use them in different locations.  This is useful when you want to measure temperature inversions in the winter, and monitor temperature differences inside/outside a canopy in the spring; however, this causes problems when comparing data across multiple seasons.  Luckily, the […]

You can increase yield by sowing seeds earlier if you can manage the risk.  You may be able to start early and squeeze in another production cycle, but if you start too early and you suffer an early frost, then you’re way behind.  What if you had a way to quantify the risk?  What if […]

Optimizing Agriculture Processes With Modern Day Technology. Smart farming introduced many connected models and solutions for the agriculture space. From sensors to drones and satellite grids- for a regular grower with limited knowledge of IoT, the big question is “Where to start”? Advancements in communications, sensors, and analysis enabled growers to increase yield, optimize irrigation […]

This article provides a behind-the-scenes look into the data that growers use to increase crop production.  It describes actual data from Michael, a strawberry grower based near Guelph, Ontario, during the summer of 2017.  Michael had been working with soil specialists from the Ministry of Agriculture who had advised him to irrigate several times a […]

If you knew how much water stayed in the field, wouldn’t it be easier to anticipate over-watering conditions: rot, disease, pests; anticipate under-watering and take measures to add water? If you knew what was happening on your farm, you’d be a better farmer with better production quality and better yield. Theoretically, the process seems very […]

This article investigates the results of work done in University of California and University of Georgia that studied the use of soil sensors and impact on costs and revenue in a test farm. They observed a 21% increase in profitability by using soil sensors to manage irrigation schedules in high value crops; as well as improved crop health.

When developing and designing ConnectedCrops, we looked very closely at Wi-Fi-based weather stations, and ultimately decided that it wasn’t a practical solution for most growers.  In the long run, WiFi was both more expensive, when all costs are considered, and more difficult to maintain.  This article provides a behind-the-scenes look into our product development process […]