Farmo and WisGate Edge Gateway: Pioneering Precision Agriculture in Australia

Farmo, an innovative ag-tech startup in Australia, empowers farmers through data-driven decisions. Their diverse product range includes weather, water, soil, people counting, and asset-related sensors, providing comprehensive solutions for agricultural activities. They are driven by real problems, real people, and real solutions.

Farmo is developing solutions based on genuine inquiries from real people - farmers who are looking for ways to optimize their farm operations. Some of the most frequently searched solutions include:

• Water Supply Monitoring - In regions where water supply is a concern, and where potential failures could harm animals and crops, monitoring is crucial. Accurate data aids in planning and crisis avoidance.
• Electric Fence Maintenance - When electric fences fail, it often takes an excessive amount of time to locate faults and rectify problems.
• Gate Monitoring - It can be challenging to monitor farm gates and prevent unauthorized entries.

Australia

Farmo is actively assisting farmers in adopting and implementing digital technologies. They continue to extend their reach through the deployment of more gateways and increased coverage tailored to fit individual users' needs.

LoRaWAN® gateways must be secure, reliable, and resilient, even under harsh conditions. This is why Farmo has chosen the RAK7249, which has proven to be the most suitable gateway for such applications in rural Australia.

• The Sensors

If an off-the-shelf sensor exists, Farmo will resell it. However, if there's a specific use case where the appropriate sensor doesn't exist, they will create it. Farmo holds two patents for inventions, which include a floating water level sensor (Water Rat) and a Farm Gate Sensor (the only one that works for farm gates). Fundamentally, they are a hardware design company. However, recognizing that hardware can't be sold without coverage, they also began providing coverage.

• The LoRaWAN Coverage

Even though some local councils have invested in LoRaWAN coverage in the region, most farms still need their own LoRaWAN gateways and networks. Photos in the project gallery below reveal that locations like machinery sheds with high roofs and 240V power on-site are selected for gateway deployment. With an antenna pole on top, these locations are ideal for the RAK7249. Considering Australia's vast and diverse geography, not a single coverage technology fits all situations. Thus, a switch between LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, and satellite (or sometimes a combination of all three) is necessary depending on the client’s location size, location, and topography.

• The Dashboard and Alerts

Farmo has customized a GUI and implemented a white-label solution so that each customer has a dashboard displaying data from their organization's sensors. The alert function is crucial as it allows customers to manage email and SMS alerts based on trigger values and specific times. Besides LoRaWAN sensors, they also operate NB-IoT sensors through a different server, but all data is ultimately pushed to the single customer dashboard.

This approach may seem different from the business model focusing on "big data." That model hasn't succeeded in Australia, leading Farmo to concentrate on small data that addresses real problems. This strategy promotes greater acceptance and trust in digital technology. Over time, longitudinal data sets are accumulating, and customers will eventually have access to their own big data, along with the insights derived from it.

The company began by developing technology to tackle issues on farms, and now it also provides solutions for smart cities and urban businesses.

Personalized smart solutions are designed to achieve the specific goals of clients and meet their needs. Farmo is developing sensors and deploying entire networks of them, ensuring stable business growth not only for themselves but also for their clients while considering the environment.

Providing end-to-end solutions for smart farming is not just a promising business model with potential, but it's indeed the right direction to take.