Key Stats:
Grower - Simon Marriott
Location - Romsey, Victoria, Australia
Crops and/or stock - Sheep and dryland hay cropping
Property size - approx. 100 acres
Soil Moisture Monitoring, Weather Monitoring, Water Level Monitoring and Image Capture Monitoring.
Simon Marriott, a remote farm owner in Romsey since 2013 with a strong focus on producing pastoral crops for his horses and selling lamb stock. With a full-time job in the city and his farm being a couple of hours away, Simon’s key concerns with being offsite 5 days of the week was that he'd need to be able to remotely check water levels in tanks, receive low and high water level notifications, keep an eye on the soil health and decide when to cut and bale crops.
Having come across Observant through the tech industry he worked in, Simon quickly adopted Observant's Monitoring & Control solutions to address his key concerns, starting with monitoring water levels in his tanks and setting low and high water level alerts to be received via text/email, and automating pumps on/off to ensure stock have water.
Simon Marriott checking tank levels and setting alerts from his smartphone.
Having addressed his primary concern around stock water management, Simon contacted Observant to improve the nutrient health of his fodder crops. The team here at Observant suggested using their Agronomic Solution to understand what was going on both above and below the ground, by installing soil moisture probes and a weather station to collect data and make informed decisions. Having access to various readings, such as, rainfall, frost, wind speed, wind direction, soil moisture and Electrical Conductivity (EC), resulted in accurate and efficient application of nutrients, as well as knowing the best time to cut and bale. Simon is now efficiently using inputs and adapting practices to give crops what they need, rather than relying on historical farming methods. The combination of having both a weather station and a soil probe sensor resulted in producing better quality pastoral crops while efficiently using water resources, in the short space of a year.
““Last years (2017) crops were disappointing, with poor quality bales, dry and lacking nutrients. This year’s crops have improved dramatically, see the comparison. Good seed, moisture levels and quality nutrients just by knowing what’s going below the soil. When to water, add nutrients and when to cut and bale for bumper crops.””
Comparing crops before and after the Observant Agronomic Solution was implemented.
Simon shows the improved health in this years crops compared to last years and how the Observant Monitoring & Control system has given multiple returns on its initial investment. Having seen a reduction in labor costs, efficiency in water application and improved crop quality.
““Being able to pull crops off at the right time has given Romsey Farm multiple payback on the system costs... As we move forward we’re looking at using the data to more efficiently run our farm and make sure that we’re putting down nutrients, pesticides and any of the seeding operations at the right time and also is allowing us to make the right decision as to when to cut and bale.””
Key Takeaways:
Set alerts on your water points to protect your stock and save on labor costs
Adapt to your crops specific requirements
Make better decisions based on data collected above and below ground
Technology can assist you in managing your time and resources better
Invest in technology to improve overall yield health, performance and returns
Time your irrigation, nutrient and pesticide application to improve crop health and growth