The advancement of agriculture has also been closely tied to the prediction and interpretation of the weather. Since the first rain gauge was developed in 1441, farmers have been working to better predict the weather in order to protect their crops.

Technological innovations have enabled the agriculture industry to increase production with lower costs, and inputs, but growing food still remains dependent on the weather. Farmers closely track weather to determine when to plant, irrigate, harvest, and more. 

A bad year of weather can destroy a crop; likewise, a good weather year can result in great yields and high-quality crops. Farmers have generally relied on aggregated weather data provided by centralized sources that use meteorologists to interpret data for large geographical areas.

But, because this weather source is covering such a large geographical area, there are often flaws and inaccuracies in the data reported.

For example, have you ever checked your phone weather app and it says it’s raining and you’re looking at a blue sky? Or it says the wind speed is 20 mph and you just feel a light breeze?

Aggregated/virtual weather stations provide weather data for a region, and because of that, there are often inconsistencies in the weather data provided and what really happened in the field. 

Farmers need weather data specific to their fields, so they know how much it rained, and what the wind speed actually was. This allows them to use accurate data to make farm management decisions to improve efficiencies and improve yields. 

That’s where hyper-local weather stations come in. Hyper-local weather stations will allow farmers to track weather data from their specific fields, making farm management decisions even more precise. 

Here at RealmFive, our Weather Front provides reliable and accurate weather data straight from the field. The Weather Front measures solar radiation, UV, rainfall via a self-emptying rain collector, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and more.

Remote connectivity is now available with the Weather Front using either LoRa or cellular connectivity to automatically send data to the cloud. This brings reliable weather data into your larger data network, giving you a one-stop place to see your data from anywhere. 

Putting the Data to Work

Planting and Yield

Each crop requires a unique number of days at or above specific temperatures to grow to full maturity. Sometimes in crops like corn, weather at a critical time can affect yield. Example: High daytime and high nighttime temperatures during pollination and grain fill. 

Irrigation

Accurately irrigate based on actual rainfall and UV data for a specific field. This not only helps reduce overwatering and water waste but also helps farmers make sure their crops get water when they need it. Wind data also helps farmers estimate how much water is needed based on the drying effect caused by strong and consistent winds. 

Spraying

Keep track of wind speeds and direction to ensure wind speeds are optimal for spraying. This also helps prevent spray drift from contaminating neighboring fields and eliminates waste so the spray gets applied where it is needed and nowhere else. 

In conclusion, weather is everything in agriculture. Having accurate, hyper-local weather data with the RealmFive Weather Front allows farmers to make more informed farm management decisions.

Interested in learning more about the RealmFive Weather Front?

Click here to contact our team – http://www.realmfive.com/contact/