Weather station – Goanna Ag, GoWeather
Goanna Ag’s weather station analyses a range of atmospheric measurements to help inform your farm planning.
Benefits
On-farm weather data is more accurate than relying on the regional Bureau of Meteorology, if the weather station is located far away from the farm.
Significant variations within a small area can impact your irrigation scheduling and available crop water in dryland systems.
GoWeather uses on-farm data to:
- provide accurate air and soil temperatures, humidity, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation
- determine evapotranspiration and rainfall estimations
- optimise timing for fertiliser application
- warn you of fire danger, inversion risk, and animal heat load.
How it works
This weather monitoring solution can link to the GoField soil moisture and temperature probe and provide growth rates of crops and pastures.
Data is updated at 10-minute intervals and is accessible via computer, phone or tablet.
GoWeather dashboard display through a web browser for the weather station at the Struan and Kybybolite AgTech demonstration farm
Installation and power
GoWeather can be installed by Goanna Ag or by the producer. The weather station is assembled and mounted onto a pole that has been concreted into the ground.
Power is supplied by a solar panel and battery.
Connectivity requirements
GoWeather connects through 3G, 4G, LoRaWAN, and the CatM1 network.
Pricing model
There is an upfront cost with ongoing subscription costs.
Producer case study
Producer case study
Andrew Fowler operates a mixed farming enterprise of 50,000 hectares in the Esperance Shire, WA. It consists of 50,000 sheep, 5,000 cattle and 36,000 hectares of cropping.
Andrew uses 7 Goanna Ag weather stations across the property. Temperature and rainfall can vary significantly, with rainfall ranging from an 650mm to 400mm. The technology helps him to quickly understand rainfall, temperature and windspeed conditions across the farm to make informed decisions.
These weather stations use a mobile phone network for remote connectivity and the data platform is accessible to everyone on the farm.
Andrew has been happy with Goanna Ag’s after sales support. He had issues with 2 of the weather stations and Goanna Ag quickly resolved the issues at no cost.
The weather stations have helped Andrew make data-driven decisions around spray timing for the property's 6 spray units. The Goanna Ag data allows Andrew to remotely assess Delta T and inversion conditions anywhere on the property.
For others considering using weather stations, Andrew advises, 'it depends on your situation and how geographically spread you are. In our situation, it was easily justified to have that information at our fingertips. It is also important that the company stands behind their product and aren’t a fly by night operation.'
He also suggests carrying insect spray for spiders when doing maintenance on the weather stations as they can interfere with the rainfall recording.
See it in action
To view the GoWeather station, contact the AgTech Extension Officer at Struan and Kybybolite demonstration farm.
Contact vendor
David Ward – Goanna Ag
Email: dward@goannaag.com.au
Phone: 0429 813 254
