Fredriks Farms, a 195-acre fruit and nut orchard located in the Ripon and Madera region of the Central Valley in California, introduced Sensoterra sensors to monitor soil health and capillary behavior of their trees.
Almond production is a major contributor to the California economy, projected to account for about 25% of the state’s agricultural exports – representing 80% of the total global supply; with the global market size of 6.1 billion USD in 2019 increasing to 8.1 billion USD by 2024. The increase in production means California growers must embrace technology for optimized irrigation. With almond production consuming 10% of the state’s fresh water supply, and with dwindling groundwater levels, smarter irrigation practices have never been more needed.
Matt Murray, of Process Tech Ag, services orchards in the California Central Valley Region of Ripon and Madera (California, USA). He recently installed Sensoterra sensors across the Frederiks Farm, an almond orchard covering 88 acres, in order to monitor tree health, and optimize irrigation frequency.
“There is a huge need to learn how to better irrigate and control the consumption of water,” – Matt Murray, Process Tech Ag
According to Murray, water shortage scenarios will be more prevalent than ever before. Additionally, California legislation enforces restricted control over water consumption, which has been stimulating growers to rethink about their irrigation practices. In order to mitigate this, clever solutions are needed to obtain tools and knowledge about how and when to irrigate. He further explains, “As an industry, we need to improve the efficiency of the data collected in the field and to make better irrigation decisions.”
The Sensoterra sensors monitor moisture at the root of the tree. Installing sensors measuring across multiple depths gives insight into how soil and crops are behaving toward irrigation, so growers know when and how much to irrigate, helping to define irrigation runtimes.
The probes are wireless, IoT based technology, which allows for flexible placement across all fields. Installation is done within minutes, with a scan & hammer process, thanks to their robust and simple design. Murray says he chose the Sensoterra system due to the overall simplicity.
“You can hammer them straight into the ground. It’s that simple”
He’s already seeing concrete results for the 2019 season. Correlating rain events with soil moisture levels helps him understand the soil absorption and capillary behavior of blossoming trees – helping to define the correct irrigation events based on soil moisture data.
His expectations for 2019 include integrating weather data along with Sensoterra soil moisture data for irrigation events. Enabling growers to make smart data-driven decisions, and provide insights into water consumption.
About Process Tech Ag:
Founded in 2018, Process Tech Ag provides solutions to Central Valley CA agricultural businesses to improve their water usage and production yields through technology. Process Tech Ag provides in-field monitoring products, installation, and monitoring services for metrics such as soil moisture, pump monitoring and efficiency, weather, and security.
About Sensoterra
Sensoterra is a pioneering leader in the field of wireless soil moisture sensors, offering cutting-edge IoT soil moisture sensor solutions for smart agriculture. Our state-of-the-art Sensoterra soil moisture sensors are at the forefront of agriculture IoT, providing unparalleled soil moisture monitoring capabilities.
Our commitment to precision agriculture technology allows farmers to make informed decisions, optimize their irrigation systems, and embrace sustainable farming solutions. With Sensoterra, access to real-time soil moisture data is at your fingertips, enabling precise water management and water resource management for your agricultural operations.
Sensoterra, established in 2015, with its headquarters in Houten, The Netherlands, develops water management solutions for agriculture/horticulture, smart city management, and water governance. Sensoterra has over 12,000 sensors in the ground globally, and generates hundreds of thousands of data points for smart water management, daily. Learn more at www.sensoterra.com
Contact for more information, pictures and/or interview requests:
Jessica Nuboer
Marketing & Communications
Sensoterra
Email: [email protected]
