Top Five Ways the KestrelMet Weather Station Helps Farmers

August 26, 2022 Monica Devlin Comments

Discover how the KestrelMet KestrelMet® 6000 AG Weather Station helps farmers improve irrigation, pest management, and more.

The KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station delivers accurate field and soil measurements for improved irrigation efficiency, optimized fertilization and pest management timing, elevated environmental stewardship and achieving a better overall bottom line.

The following are just FIVE potential benefits to farmers after incorporating the KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station into their operation.

Improved Irrigation Management

As concerns rise over agricultural water availability and restrictions, the KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station helps farmers achieve enhanced results by providing local environmental and soil conditions data that can be used to support better irrigation management, resulting in more effective and efficient water use across their farms. The optional Watermark sensor kit measures soil moisture and soil temperature at three different depths, providing valuable data on soil conditions throughout the root zone of the target crop. It gives farmers with irrigation more control over their data so that they apply only the amount of water the crop needs and that the soil can hold.

More Effective Pest Management Decisions

Excessive irrigation can waste soil and fertilizer in water runoff, resulting in deep percolation and leaching of costly fertilizer and farm chemicals. At the same time, precise fertilization and pest management based on optimal application timing using moisture, wind and plant condition data can enhance results and help farmers protect their investment. The KestrelMet 6000 AG has a specific model that integrates with the Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA), managed by Cornell University. It uses accurate weather station data across multiple states to provide weather forecasting and crop production tools designed to help growers.

“The KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station is easy to install and gives us access to real-time information from our orchard,” says New Hampshire farmer Doug Morin. “Within just a few weeks, it helped us make more informed decisions about when irrigation and pest management applications are needed. We love how easy the data is to access on either a phone or computer." 

Doug Morin, Tellman Hill Farm

More Accuracy

Most farms are miles away from the nearest weather station, which is typically located near an urban area or airport, making it difficult to get the most accurate information regarding weather and environmental conditions. On-farm weather stations can help farmers understand when to plant for optimal germination, time precision management applications, and monitor and manage threatening conditions.

The KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station provides hyperlocal measurements of rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, dewpoint and barometric pressure. It can also be customized with sensors for monitoring soil moisture, soil temperature, leaf wetness and solar irradiance — all providing important data points for implementing the best management practices to maximize inputs while stewarding the environment and resources.

Historical Environmental Data

A new study* by agricultural economics experts from Texas A&M AgriLife and Virginia Tech makes a strong case for using historical weather information in crop insurance programs for more accurate policy pricing. According to the study, insurers typically rely on historical weather information to calculate premiums, after-the-event adjustments, crop insurance portfolios and risk. Making decisions based on local, real-time information versus information averaged over large areas can help to ensure that rates are set accurately, and coverage is adequate, and to confirm actual on-farm conditions that may trigger coverage.

View current and historical on-farm KestrelMet 6000 weather data on the Ambient Weather Network app or online portal.

Convenience & Lower Costs

Easily deployable, the KestrelMet 6000 AG arrives preassembled for fast setup and frustration-free installation. It also includes a low-cost cellular plan — with the first year free — to connect the station to the online monitoring dashboard or the app. The design of the KestrelMet 6000 AG, which is based on input from growers and agricultural specialists, makes it easy to use. And it is priced at less than half the cost of ownership of other weather stations serving the agricultural market.

For more information or to order the KestrelMet 6000 AG Weather Station, visit https://kestrelmet.com/agriculture-weather-stations.
* https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajae.12329

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Monica Devlin