Farmers can make data-driven, land-management decisions and reduce their water consumption by up to 30%.
France’s internet of things (IoT) solutions provider Kerlink has partnered with Dutch wireless soil-moisture-sensor expert Sensoterra to realize this vision.
The partners announced that a new class of soil-moisture sensors based on Kerlink’s LoRaWAN-based Low Power IoT Reference Design platform will be launched in the US, Europe, and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region this year.
“Soil moisture data is becoming a key component of sustainable farming programs globally as producers contend with increasingly erratic weather patterns and drier growing seasons. Measuring precise moisture conditions in their fields helps farmers maintain soil health, improve water conservation, and increase yields,” Kerlink said in a news release.
Sensoterra said that it has been working with growers since its founding in 2014 to bring smart soil-moisture solutions to market. Based in Amsterdam, it has 5,000 sensors in the ground, globally.
In addition to providing soil monitoring for row-crops, orchards, and soft fruits, the company’s technology is said to support efficient water use in public and private landscaping projects and municipal parks and sports fields.
“Less than 2% of agricultural land worldwide is equipped for soil-moisture measurement, which presents a very large market for wireless soil-monitoring and a big opportunity to improve water conservation,” said Christine Fraser-Boer, chief operating officer, Sensoterra.
“Sensoterra is targeting that space, and Kerlink’s LPIoT Reference Design platform significantly lowered R&D costs and shortened time to market for our new moisture sensors,” she said.
The company is hoping to get US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) certification so that we can offer the new smart-farming sensors in the US by year-end.
“Incorporating this platform in our sensors also allows us to quickly follow our US rollout with launches in Europe and APAC,” Fraser-Boer noted.
