Written by Bexy McFly
Want high quality local organic produce? There’s an app for that.
Want high quality local organic produce? There’s an app for that.
Twenty Tasmanian farms are now a lot more sensitive – but they haven’t been watching Bold and The Beautiful or drinking too much soy milk – They’ve been fitted with sensors to make farming easier, albeit more scientific.
Sense T sensing technology is trialling new sensors on a variety of crops in Tasmania which can sense factors such as temperature, humidity, soil moisture, leaf wetness and solar radiation (to name a few).
The high density sensor network, two years in the making, can connect online via specially designed apps which have been developed with the help of farmers according to their specific needs. With this technology growers can now be seen sporting tablets and smart phones to help them see, quite literally, what is happening under their soil.
Not only will farmers look more trendy, they’ll be helping Tasmania grow a more productive economy, and most importantly they’ll be bringing even better, high quality produce to the dinner table.
The sensors will play a vital part in quality and pest control, as well as irrigation efficiency, helping growers produce optimal results for not only fruit and vegetables but wine and flowers too, so there’s never been a better time to plan that dinner party.
While the apps developed by Sense T and farmers are probably not as much fun and addictive as Fruit Ninja, this $13 million investment is definitely a step in the right direction for technology and mother nature working harmoniously as a team for the greater good.