Kathleen Glass

Farmers across the state aren’t getting much of a post-planting reprieve, as temperatures continue to heat up and rainfall continues to stay away lately across most of the Cornhusker state. As such, irrigation motors are firing up rapidly as producers fret about their emerging crops amidst the hot, dry conditions.

Peer pressure is most certainly a factor, it seems, when it comes to irrigation. Many producers convince themselves that their soil moisture is adequate for another day or two, but when the neighboring pivot fires up that evening, it can be difficult to not follow suit.

Many times, however, soil moisture conditions are adequate, and, increasingly, farmers across the state and nation are trading in guessing for certainty by utilizing the latest moisture monitoring technology, with significant cost-saving results.

A popular source for this innovation around Nebraska is through San Diego-based company AquaSpy, whose high-tech soil moisture probes deliver real-time data to producers, revealing the detailed moisture content and temperature of their fields at different depths and times of day. Farmers are then able to determine vital information about their crops, including how deep the roots have penetrated and how well the plants are utilizing the fertilizer at varying depths.

This probe-data is wirelessly sent in real-time to an easy-to-manage dashboard, which may then be accessed on any computer or mobile device, allowing users to monitor their fields at any time and place.

Armed with this detailed analysis, producers are able to actively manage their irrigation efforts based on hard data, not conjecture.

North-Central Nebraska farmer and AquaSpy user Tim Schmeeckle revealed that he ran his center-pivots three fewer times with AquaSpy than the year before. With the costs associated with pumping and labor to run each pivot estimated to be around $1,000, Schmeekle estimates a savings of $30,000 that year.

“It is kind of like a fuel gauge on your car,” he said. “We know how much moisture we started with. We know how much the roots are taking out of the ground, and we know how deep we are putting that water back in.”

The Nebraska Ag Water Management Network has estimated a water-savings of 2 inches per acre for those utilizing any soil moisture monitoring technology—a cost saving measure that adds up to $10-$30 per acre.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, moisture sensor technology not only reduces pumping costs, but may also improve crop growth and yield by helping farmers avoid the detrimental effects caused by overwatering upon soil conditions and nutrient leaching.

Producers who are ready to give such technology a try are encouraged to install their sensors early on in the season to ensure proper operation. Early installation helps minimize root damage, allows time for the sensors to acclimate to the soil moisture conditions, and ensures a better chance for proper soil contact.

Controlling input costs and keeping a tight rein on irrigation output has a significant effect on a producer’s bottom line—now more than ever. If you are considering utilizing moisture sensing data into your operation, please let us help you decide the best way to move forward with this exciting technology.

UFARM offers a full range of Nebraska land management services, including real estate sales, rural property appraisals, consultations and crop insurance. UFARM has operated in Nebraska since the early 1930’s. If you have questions about yields and productivity on your rented farmland, give the UFARM managers contact us today!

Sources consulted: Freeman, Mike. “Drought-Stricken Fields Get Boost From Technology.” The San Diego Union-Tribune. The San Diego Union Tribune. 17 Jul. 2014. Web. 13 Jun. 2017. Nygren, Aaron. “Value of Using Sensors for Irrigation and Tips for Proper Installation.” Cropwatch. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 8 Jun. 2017. Web. 13 Jun. 2017.

How We Scientifically Improve Yield by The Process Control of Matching Root Demand to Soil Supply

AquaSpy allows the grower to use data to make input decisions every minute of every day to absolutely control the human part of the equation (nurture). Every crop, and every demand it has, is distinct every year; therefore, AquaSpy looks at root behavior and how it interacts in its environment to drive the process, and not a pre-prescribed formula that says this crop, in this soil type, should need this much of that at this time. The AquaSpy method of sending electrical signals out separately every five minutes to all 12 layers of soil, and our backend server algorithms that turn those signals into decisions, is precisely enabling the plant itself to tell the grower dynamically in any exact moment, in a particular layer of soil, what the root needs then and there in order to grow into the biggest stalk (and fruit) possible within the constraints of nature.

We Are Not Just an Irrigation Scheduler

With other systems, you will get a relative measure of soil wetness (combined with the EC and temperature influence), showing a relative line in whatever one random depth the grower happened to install a probe at, to show the soil was relatively wetter or relatively drier, than the field at that random depth was from the time the sensor was installed. To us that is almost useless and nothing more than an imprecise irrigation scheduler and did not make an iota of sense to us at all. 

Installation Takes an Experienced Person 21 Minutes

Most of the 21 minutes are simply driven by using a power auger to drill the hole. The communication tower actually talks the installer through the process point by point as they proceed (in any language). The installation can be done by the grower, or if using an AquaSpy dealer, this can be negotiated between the grower and the dealer as either a paid or free service. We do have a third-party installation Company who does thousands of installs for a fee.

Managing the Equipment Year-around

The dealer or installer will install the 12-sensor vertical probe at or just after emergence and remove before harvesting, except of course for permanent installations such as for Oranges or Avocados or perennial crops. Since we sell the equipment at our cost, the grower owns the equipment and is therefore responsible for storing equipment. However, they can (and some do) leave it running all throughout the winter to monitor field water and nutrient levels for planning next years’ crop type, as well as temperatures at the various depths for timing. Both the probe with less than a 2-inch circumference, and the Communications Tower (also a thin telescopic pole extendable to 10 feet) are light and unobtrusive to store.

Water Savings and Yield Improvement

Although it is common and typical to see 1, 2, or 3 (sometimes more) acre inches of water savings, because every field in every climate in every year is a unique interaction between nature and nurture, we cannot unequivocally state that you will save water by using data for process control because if the plant in that moment signals that it needs or is on a pathway to need nutrients at a particular layer of depth, you may use more water rather than less. What we can guarantee is that you will know exactly how much water you will need to place when and where the active root zone calls for it; no more and no less than the plant needs to achieve its’ maximum growth.

Determining Yield Improvement for Subsequent Cropping Cycles  

Each year with each crop is a new and unique life cycle of its’ own. Each and every subsequent year is its own unique circumstance and the crop will continue to tell you minute by minute and day by day what it needs when and where in order to manifest in the biggest yield it can possibly achieve.

AquaSpy does not attempt to issue prescriptive boiler plate amounts of fertilizer or water based upon historical norms or theories as every crop in every layer of soil in every day of every season is its’ own unique environment; instead, we simply let the plant speak for itself.

There are so many variables between the dynamics of nature and nurture during the process of growing, that it is impossible to control or pretend to prescribe an input regimen that will account for the many powerful vicissitudes of nature impinging upon a living organism’s ability to thrive within all of those constraints (wind, water, humidity, growing degree days etc.).

While a plant has to use its’ root system to forage for the necessary sustenance in order to thrive, we simply gave it a voice to communicate with the nurturer, so its’ needs can be met and we have empirically proven that when a grower does so, the crop (mostly made of 85% to 95% water in the first place), can be all it can be.

Sensor Data and Interface Technology Required to Receive Results 

A Grower will need an internet connection with a browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer) or a phone (with a browser of course), and included in the price is the cellular plan that we have negotiated in bulk via either CDMA or GSM.

The most important need the grower will have is the ability and interest to proactively look at the interface, react to alerts and alarms pushed to their phone or computer and respond to what the plant is communicating to him or her.

The Ability to Deliver Yield Improvement and Get Insights in to Water Application /Management

You will be amazed at what you see actually transpiring underground where the action really is at. Using AquaSpy, you can observe trends and interactions to the many dynamics which occur unseen and probably unthought of underground where all of the important early warning signals occur. The alternative is to wait until the nutrient deficiency or impediments manifest in the canopy in which case you can use a drone and treat the malady after the fact when yield is already substantially harmed.

Differentiators for AquaSpy vs. Other Technologies

AquaSpy is completely and foundationally unique from the very essence of what we provide as a scientific data driven process control tool acting as voice of the plant.

Others provide a sensor at a random depth, showing a relative wetting up or drying down relative to how wet or how dry the field (at that one random depth) was at the point of installation or as a drone will do to show the colors of wet or dry at centimeters of depth over a field with no knowledge of or concern with where the active root zone is or whether or not there is liquefied sustenance in that zone on an absolute basis of full, empty, overflowing or anything in-between, we give many different and separate measures (EC, temperature, and moisture).

We calibrate the 12 sensors once and forever in the factory for any type of soil so you don’t have to describe the soil type to get the competition’s canned prescription of what and how much to put on when based upon their “knowledge.” We separate moisture from EC from temperature and we don’t care what you call the soil or its’ various manifestations of different properties throughout the zone layers; we only care about the holding capacity of whatever you want to call that layer of soil such that we tell you dynamically per layer per point in time, what is: full, empty, overflowing or anything in-between.

We show icons for actions and alerts such as: root growth, depth of water penetration, withdrawal rate of both EC and separately moisture by layer and by the aggregate active root zone.

We show you your YES! Score compliance every day throughout the process, and dozens of other unique features. We are not an irrigation scheduler first, yet, it is a by-product of our driving yield as the voice of the plant and not the whole sole purpose of our existence as a Company.

How You Best Exploit this Early Revolution

Think of it as the next evolution in how Farmers grow crops by listening to them at depth. When dryland became irrigated, yields roughly doubled, for obvious reasons and that is why the pivot and drip Industries are so large and lucrative. Now turn that pivot 90 degrees and think of it as supplying liquid nutrients to the root system at depth rather than just getting to the right zone by chance. This is the next evolution and it drives yield and it is both common sense and scientifically driven.

Article from: Article Posted on Oklahomafarmreport.com

At the recent annual meeting of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, North Carolina farmer and soil health expert, Russell Hedrick, shared with local producers the strategies he has implemented on his operation using cover crops to improve the health of his soil – and how to make money doing it. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays had the chance to talk with Hedrick about how farmers can successfully implement systems like this on their own operations. Click or tap the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of this story to listen to Hays’ interview with Hedrick about his cover crop systems and the benefits he’s reaped using them.

“One of the things producers do is they only look at one aspect of soil health,” he said. “They’ve got to look at all the different avenues that they’re saving money.”

Hedrick says he likes to preach to farmers that they need to be farming for profits, not for yields. With no-till systems, Hedricks says you will sometimes get high end yields, but by steadily reducing the amount of inputs into your crops, you will more consistently add to your bottom line.

However, he points out that the benefits of practicing no-till and having a cover crop system in place are not going to be seen immediately. He insists you have to invest money to make money.

“If guys are willing to take that time and that effort to try to implement these practices and truly give them a good feel,” Hedricks said, “… I have never seen anybody that uses this system for two or three years, has ever went back to the old way of doing things and that’s the key – we have to change people’s minds.”

His advice to farmers trying a system like this out for the first time is – they have to be committed and set their sights on the long-term, understanding that you will not see the results reach their full potential until five or even ten years down the road.

Listen to Hays’ interview with Hedrick about his cover crop systems and the benefits he is reaping

Lux Research maintains a profile on AquaSpy. The following press release reveals additional research:

The Internet of Things is Coming to Agriculture, Bringing a Mixed Bag of Outcomes

AquaSpy is a soil moisture sensing and data platform that was founded in 1998 in Australia. It started off manufacturing and selling soil moisture probes but now has a data platform providing growers using drip irrigation and center-pivots with data analytics and best-practice irrigation templates. The aim is to help improve yields and reduce costs by ensuring that all inputs and nutrients are available to a crop’s active root zone at the right time.

AquaSpy has raised capital from investors such as agtech VC Cultivian Ventures, UK-based technology growth investor WHEB Partners, Switzerland’s Emerald Technology Ventures, Portugal’s Espirito Santo Ventures, and the state of Indiana. AquaSpy has raised $16.5 million in total, and its Series B round raised $4.8 million in June 2010. The company would be open to bringing on another investment partner, if the fit was right, according to Bruce Moeller, CEO of AquaSpy since February 2009.

Now with technology in the hands of 3,000 subscribing farmers and agribusinesses, across 330,000 pivots, the business is coming into its own, according to Moeller. But it’s been a long road to get here, he tells AgFunderNews.

You said that it’s “been a long slog to get people to adopt the technology.” Why is that?

Growers have been growing and watering their crops or allowing nature to water them for 10,000 years. We say the world is not flat, but then we don’t think vertically. We don’t think about what’s going on underground or under the surface. When we look at some of the technology out there, that’s doing satellite imaging, and so on, people are looking at a pivot area from above to find evidence of drought or nitrate deficiency or too much water. But when you think about roots in a crop, they are to the plants what the mouths are for us, but they don’t have hands and feet like we do. They go underground and dig deep. And it’s activity at that level, where the active roots are, that directly correlates to yield.

Farmers are used to thinking horizontally, but crops grow vertically, so we are having to educate them in a new way of looking at things. AquaSpy evolved to where it is today when we redid the sensors in a vertical column in 2010 and then built a communication tower to tell you where the roots are and what penetration is needed.

From selling sensors directly to farmers, the company has evolved into a B2B model and sells hardware through dealer networks. Farmers can then subscribe to your data analytics platform online. How has that changed the success of the company?

Moving B2B improved things. Typically what we’ve found is that if a local dealer, who has worked with local farmers, says that a technology works, the farmers will trust them and buy the tech. If I’d gone to meet those farmers alone, they wouldn’t trust me. It’s a trust-based business developed over generations.

We’ve seen that dealers selling our product for two years have quadrupled their orders, and those selling for one year have doubled or tripled their orders. We think we should double our sales, or more, each year.

How much revenue are you bringing in today?

It’s under $10 million at this point, but with well over a $1 billion market to address, a market that we’re definitely leading, when we get past single digit penetration, our projections are north of $100 million in revenues.

How does AquaSpy fit in with the growing number of ag big data companies coming to the fore and offering farmers not just one source of information, but several data sets?

There is a big push at the moment for aggregating big data on the farm in a sort of one-stop-shop; one sell plan analyzing lots of different reports from soil moisture, crop health and so on, and putting all these data points together for the farmer.

I personally think this is the wrong answer. I don’t think the farmer can afford to pay for all those different technologies to get all the different signals and data points. The weather says to do this, underground management says to do that. It’s confusing for growers.

I think we will find that the most significant correlation to yield relates to the moisture at the root zone.

Plant growth is vertical, and it’s the application of moisture to the roots that has the direct correlation to yield. Other factors will contribute to it, but other metrics that many of these big data companies are tracking will fall off as farmers fail to see a direct correlation to yield. Everyone means well, but they just don’t know what they don’t know yet.

Agriculture is an industry that’s taken a long time to adopt technology and evolve. What clouds the issue with crops and agriculture is nature versus nurture. Every time someone claims their product improves yields, a farmer will be open to it, and maybe they will get a better yield, but where it falls apart is that the farmer can say it was just a good year that year, the seed was right, the weather was good. So you need to separate both to extract the real value.

We have developed a YES score — a yield efficiency score — which just attacks the nurture part. We can track your behavior and what you do, and how that contributes to a better yield. There are lots of things you can do to stop salts build up underground near the root zone, for example, and we can then give a farmer a score on that. We think this can help separate all the noise in the marketplace.

Weather is one thing that everyone is paying big money to track and the one thing you can’t do anything about.

What advice would you give to agriculture technology startups?

My advice to technology startups is to be prepared to go in for the long haul as nothing is immediate in this market. It takes time to grow, so perseverance is the absolute key to success in this market; IF you truly add value.