Insights

Insights on Precision Agriculture and Farm Monitoring

The Insights section of OCM Agrisystems provides practical information about environmental monitoring, agricultural technology and data-driven farming practices.

As precision agriculture continues to evolve, access to accurate environmental data is becoming essential for efficient farm management. Weather monitoring systems, soil sensors and connected telemetry platforms allow growers to better understand the conditions affecting crop performance.

Our insights explore how modern agricultural monitoring technology can support improved irrigation management, reduce environmental risks and increase productivity across farming operations.

How Many Weather Stations Does My Farm Need?
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

How Many Weather Stations Does My Farm Need?

The number of weather stations a farm needs depends on property size, terrain variability, crop type and what decisions the data will support. This guide explains how to plan a monitoring network that matches your operation.

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Understanding SDI-12 Networks
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Understanding SDI-12 Networks

Modern agricultural monitoring systems often rely on large numbers of environmental sensors operating in remote outdoor conditions. Soil moisture probes, weather stations, water quality sensors and environmental monitoring devices all need to communicate reliably while consuming very little power.

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How Farm Telemetry Systems Work
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

How Farm Telemetry Systems Work

Telemetry systems are becoming an increasingly important part of modern agriculture. As farms adopt more connected technology, growers are now monitoring weather stations, pumps, irrigation systems, soil moisture sensors and water infrastructure remotely in real time rather than relying entirely on manual inspection.

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Remote Water Tank Monitoring for Farms
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Remote Water Tank Monitoring for Farms

Water infrastructure is one of the most critical parts of many farming operations, particularly across remote or large rural properties where tanks may supply livestock, irrigation systems, spray equipment or household infrastructure over long distances.

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What Is Delta T and Why Does It Matter for Spraying?
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

What Is Delta T and Why Does It Matter for Spraying?

Delta T has become one of the most commonly used indicators for assessing spraying conditions in modern agriculture. While many growers are familiar with monitoring wind speed during spraying operations, Delta T provides additional insight into how environmental conditions may affect droplet evaporation and spray performance after the chemical leaves the nozzle.

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Weather Stations for Orchards
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Weather Stations for Orchards

Orchards often experience highly localised environmental conditions that can vary significantly across relatively small areas. Temperature, humidity, wind movement and moisture levels are all influenced by tree canopy structure, elevation changes and surrounding vegetation. Because of this, regional weather forecasts frequently fail to represent the actual conditions occurring within the orchard itself.

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Farm Weather Station Installation Guide
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Farm Weather Station Installation Guide

A weather station can only provide reliable data if it is installed correctly. Even high-quality monitoring equipment may produce inaccurate or inconsistent readings when sensors are poorly positioned or installed in unsuitable environments.

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Weather Stations for Broadacre Farming
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Weather Stations for Broadacre Farming

Broadacre farming has always been heavily influenced by weather conditions, but the role of environmental monitoring has changed significantly over the past decade. Increasing input costs, tighter spray windows and growing pressure to improve operational efficiency have made accurate local weather data far more valuable than it once was.

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LoRaWAN vs Cellular Farm Monitoring Systems
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

LoRaWAN vs Cellular Farm Monitoring Systems

Remote monitoring systems are becoming increasingly common across modern farming operations. Weather stations, soil moisture probes, tank level sensors and pump monitoring systems now allow growers to monitor environmental conditions and infrastructure remotely in real time. As farms continue adopting precision agriculture technologies, reliable connectivity has become one of the most important parts of any monitoring system.

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Best Placement for a Farm Weather Station
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Best Placement for a Farm Weather Station

A weather station is only as accurate as the environment surrounding it. Even high-quality sensors can produce misleading data if they are installed in poor locations or too close to surrounding obstructions. On farms, this can create problems ranging from inaccurate rainfall measurements through to unreliable wind data during spraying operations.

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Weather Monitoring for Spray Drift Prevention
Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron

Weather Monitoring for Spray Drift Prevention

Spray drift continues to be one of the most important operational risks associated with agricultural spraying. Even with modern spraying equipment and careful chemical selection, changing environmental conditions can significantly affect where droplets travel once they leave the nozzle. In some situations, this simply reduces spray effectiveness. In others, it can result in off-target movement that affects neighbouring crops, waterways, roads or surrounding properties.

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