Southern farmers create weather network

And it's the reason the Stirlings to Coast Farmers (SCF) group has started promoting the latest models with a goal to create a weather station network to benefit its members.

According to SCF chief executive officer Nathan Dovey, the group already has installed weather stations on its two Smart Farm properties at Woogenellup (all crop) and Kendenup (livestock and crop) in 2019 with plans for two more at Cranbrook and Green Range.

Forget the old rain gauges.

We're talking about self-learning weather stations that compile real-time data to 'sharpen the pencil' when it comes to forecasting weather, learning data and correcting in real time - very handy information especially if you're spraying and want to know accurate Delta T conditions.

Currently there are 180 Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) weather stations throughout the Wheatbelt, but the problem is that in some circumstances the spacing between stations is just too far, or there are physical impediments that have an influence on weather conditions (like hills or ranges, such as the Stirlings).

This can distort collected data making it less accurate.

Mr Dovey said it was self-evident a system embracing data from more locations and self-learning forecasting models would provide more accurate data to growers and industry.

"We're encouraging our members to assess the new technology out there, such as weather stations, so they can not only embrace technology changes but work out what tools are most useful and likely to return an economic benefit to their farm," Mr Dovey said.

"The more stations that are out there the more accurate the data that can be collected.

"We're starting slowly with new weather stations on our Smart Farms and members can access the data we gain and assess for themselves how it might work on their farm.

"We're not pushing any particular weather station and there are several good ones out there, but rather we would encourage members to buy their own and we can help with back-up from our Smart Farm co-ordinator Phil Honey."

According to Mr Honey, accurate data is paramount to farm decisions.

"Your gut feel is not always right," Mr Honey said.

"What you can set up is a system that provides objective real-time data which you can add to existing data and start building up, for example, paddock profiles or assessing long-term patterns.

"On our Smart Farms, apart from the weather stations, we also have set up soil moisture probes, remote rain gauges, tank level monitoring solutions, wireless sensor networks and improved Wi-Fi coverage between and within buildings."

Mr Honey said they were assessing not only daily rain data, but also soil moisture levels and soil temperature variations.

"For example, it can provide the type of information you want if you've had a frost event," he said.

"You can use data to determine the damage, whether to leave it for harvest or cut for hay because you've got the numbers from which to work out a cost analysis.

"Similarly with soil moisture levels if you know how much is in the bank it can be a major determinant in what sort of input decisions you are likely to make to get the best out of your crops."

Mr Honey said the group's desire to build a weather station network would increase large sets of data points available for members to access and act on.

"An increase in data points, for example, would enable a more accurate 15-day forecast updated every hour, including Delta T information," he said.

With assistance from both DPIRD's DecisionAg IoT grants and the Federal government's National Landcare Program Smart Farms Small Grants programs, Mr Honey said they were focused on road testing a range of technologies to see what works and what doesn't.

"We are also hoping to change the perception of technology away from perceptions of cost barriers, to cost benefits," he said.

"Few considerations are given to such things as labour efficiencies, healthier livestock and input cost savings.

"We believe we can show a wide range of benefits from employing technology on our Smart Farms which are owned by members who have embraced the concept.

"Each farm is about 4500 hectares so we have access to whole farm data, not just strip trials.

"And we have formulated a calculator to identify costs of different strategies."

Mr Honey said the group was using DTN weather stations which continuously recorded weather data and sent the information (rainfall, temperature, humidity and wind speed/direction ) to the cloud every 15 minutes.

Alternative brands are being tested this year across a range of locations chosen from the membership base.

The data fed to the cloud creates 36 hour and 14-day forecasts for each location.

The platform also uses the BoM and DPIRD weather station sites and allows other internet-connected weather stations to be fed into the model.

SCF also has installed soil moisture probes at the Smart Farms to receive regular soil moisture and temperature conditions in 10 centimetre increments across all sites.

In combination with rainfall data, infiltration rates can be measured to determine the amount of sub-soil moisture while using the data for nutrient management decisions throughout the growing season.

Other technology includes trialling two tank-monitoring solutions to provide alerts if water falls below a pre-set level, remote rain gauges to gain a better understanding of rainfall distribution throughout the region, point-to-point Wi-Fi and aggregating data into one single point or dashboard.

According to Mr Honey, while some of the technologies won't have easily calculable "returns on investment", SCF has developed a basic calculator which helps determine potential savings over five years.

"It's a bit hard to get a decent figure in the first year on things like soil moisture probes, remote rain gauges and tank level monitoring, but they can all yield considerable savings both in labour and travel from the initial implementation," Mr Honey said.

And members would not be left on their own during their journey with new technology.

"Through our Smart Farms initiative, we will be hosting and providing a range of workshops and publication materials to help identify how to choose equipment and what features to look for," Mr Honey said.

"SCF also can offer our members assistance in the acquisition and installation of required equipment."