Erw Fawr Project Introduction: Lorawan Gateway Project Looking To Link Soil and Air Temperature With Grass Growth Rate at Farming Connect Dairy Demonstration Site

Farming Connect demonstration site Erw Fawr have installed LoRaWAN (Low Power Long Range Wide Area Access Network) sensors to collect soil temperature data to compare with grass growth rates during the 2021 grazing season. Installed back in October 2020, the small sensor has been sending temperature data every 15 minutes via a LoRaWAN gateway installed on one of the cubicle sheds. This data is being interpreted on a bespoke dashboard as a series of graphs and downloadable data sheets. Data thresholds can be set with an alarm function on a mobile device to notify the farmer of any required actions such as correct timing of fertiliser or the suitability of soil conditions to apply manures. The farm will provide weekly grass recordings as part of the Welsh Pasture Project and soil temperature data will be correlated as the growing season continues. Regular updates will be published on the on the Farming Connect website here.

Figure 1. Dual temperature sensor fitted to paddock post

Graph 1. Temperature readings from Erw Fawr (Green = Soil,  Red=Air)