The family farm AGROSSyn from Klíčany near Prague focuses on plant and livestock production. They cultivate cereals, oil crops and other crops on 1150 hectares of arable land. The crops are then processed, cleaned, stored on their own premises and sold in smaller packs directly at the farm. Their animal production focuses on chickens, pigs and beehives. Since 2000, the farm has been practicing precision farming methods.
„Without sensors, we wouldn’t detect problems in the fields or storage in time, meaning the damage would be several times greater.“
The farm has 1150 hectares of agricultural land for cultivating crops, which need to be monitored regularly. Every day their conditions are checked – whether the crop is being attacked by pests or moulds, both in the field and then in post-harvest halls or silos. If pests are detected, it is necessary to intervene in a timely manner to forego the risk of depreciation, meaning additional costs. In any case, the cost of treatment is the greatest, so it is better to prevent this threat.
The AGROSSyn farm is large. Each field and storage unit has to be checked. This requires the time of an employee. The farm further practices precision farming, such as the application of fertilizers on specific sections of the field, in keeping with the principles of sustainable development
We met Mr. Bačina at the TechAgro trade fair where we introduced him to our bar sensors. These are 3.2 m long sticks, inserted into harvested crops in the post-harvest hall, where they measure their temperature at 5 different levels. The sensors then send real-time data to the CleverFarm application every 30 minutes, based on which the agronomist can decide whether the crops need to be aerated. Using data from weather stations or standing sensors located directly in the individual fields, they decide what actions to take and where or how to apply certain products for optimal performance, without having to visit the locations in person.
After three weeks of storing common wheat, the application began to detect higher temperatures in one grain layer. A designated person was sent to the site, who took a sample, tested it and found the presence of a pest. The section had to be cleaned, aerated and returned to the warehouse. Without this detection, the pest would multiply and cause a great deal of damage. Thanks to data from the Satellite Imagery, the AGROSSyn farm doesn’t have to worry about the excessive use of fertilizers – with the application, they also have a clear overview of the climate conditions in their fields.
