In a significant stride towards modernizing agriculture, a new Smart Agriculture IoT network is set to launch across North Wales, harnessing the power of Internet of Things (IoT) innovations and LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) technologies. Fully funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and delivered by Mentera on behalf of Ambition North Wales through its Digital Programme, this initiative aims to bolster farm efficiency, productivity, and sustainability.
The project will see a series of on-farm trials conducted over the coming months, encompassing a wide range of focus areas across the dairy, red meat, poultry, and horticulture sectors. These trials will leverage LoRaWAN and IoT technology to address various challenges, from theft prevention and on-farm security to monitoring environmental factors such as rainfall, soil health, and river turbidity. Additionally, the project will explore the use of technology to monitor bulling activity in suckler herds, aiming to improve fertility rates.
LoRaWAN, a wide-area networking system designed for connecting IoT devices, is particularly suited for agriculture due to its ability to communicate data over long distances with minimal power consumption. This technology enables simple, battery-powered sensors to connect to the internet over large areas without relying on cellular or Wi-Fi networks, making it an increasingly popular choice in the agricultural sector.
The farms participating in the new Smart Agriculture IoT network span all six counties in North Wales. In Anglesey, a horticulture farmer is investigating orchard soil sensing to optimize fruit production, addressing issues related to drought and waterlogging. Meanwhile, a dairy farm in Flintshire is focusing on maintaining optimum herd health and welfare by monitoring housing environments and water intake. A poultry farmer in Conwy aims to achieve problem detection within poultry units, focusing on light intensity and water availability.
In response to the recent rise in trespassers leaving gates open in remote hill areas, a red meat sector project in Denbighshire is concentrating on smart gate monitoring to enhance livestock safety. In Gwynedd, a beef and sheep farmer aims to improve water efficiency and monitoring to ensure continuous water supply for livestock. A beef farm in Wrexham is utilizing technology for better resource management, focusing on electric fence monitoring to prevent livestock from breaking out and reducing manual labor.
Other focus areas include soil and weather monitoring for optimizing grass production operations, alert systems for farm security, solar water pump system fault detection and usage, and enhancing livestock health and productivity through soil health, water, and housing management.
Manon Llwyd Lewis, Smart Agriculture IoT Trials Officer at Mentera, expressed enthusiasm for the project, stating, “This is a fantastic opportunity for farmers in North Wales to be at the forefront of agricultural innovation. The adoption of technologies like LoRaWAN is crucial for creating more resilient, productive, and sustainable farm businesses, and the network provides an exciting opportunity for us to integrate advanced technology into the farming industry in North Wales.”
The project aims to build on the existing open access network developed by participating councils in North Wales, increasing LoRaWAN accessibility to the wider agricultural sector. For ongoing updates, please visit Mentera’s website at mentera.cymru.