Technology To Turn You Into A Truly Smart Farmer

Production data is invaluable for enhancing farm management and improving profitability. However, collecting and analysing this information efficiently can be daunting. Western Cape farmer Wolfgang von Loeper explains why this need not be the case.

- Lloyd Phillips

After starting his farming career nine years ago as an organic wine grape and olive grower in Somerset West in the Western Cape, Wolfgang von Loeper quickly came to realise that successful, modern farming requires detailed production data. Moreover, being able to analyse, interpret and use this information to improve the operation is of equal importance.

Initially, Wolfgang focused on managing plant stress in his vineyards.

“As part of a holistic approach to production, I manage plant stress rather than applying chemical recipes,” he explains. “If a plant is stressed, it becomes more susceptible to pests and diseases, which then requires reactive crop protection applications. My aim was to be proactive and minimise the plants’ stress so that I could anticipate complications early, and react before the problems became big. To achieve this, I began using multiple data sources from various technologies.”

Data was generated from soil, fruit and leaf analyses, and berry weight ratio measurements, amongst others. Wolfgang also hired a light aircraft, fitted with normalised difference vegetation index-capable cameras, to survey his olive orchards and vineyards.Going even further, he collected his own data using infield weather stations, soil moisture probes and by measuring stem water potential  (how well water flows from one part of a plant to another).

TOO MUCH TO HANDLE

 “All this resulted in a huge quantity of data that I collected on my own Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. It was time-consuming and tiring,” recalls Wolfgang.

Worse, trying to interpret, let alone use, this avalanche of information to improve his farm management proved all but impossible.

With ever more farm data recording technologies coming onto the market, Wolfgang realised that the problem would only get worse.