Field monitoring systems to cast wider Canadian net

Farmers will soon get a new entry point in the Internet of Things (IoT) as a new company brings field monitoring tools and services to the Canadian market.

Austrian tech firm Pessl Instruments and Winnipeg-based Glacier FarmMedia, the owner of this website, on Wednesday announced a new joint venture, Metos Canada, to market and support digital smart ag services.

Pessl makes and sells a roster of wireless sensors and devices, with such applications as remote field monitoring, weather monitoring and forecasting, water and nutrient management, disease modelling and insect monitoring.

Product launches in the last couple of years have included iScout, which features an optical high-res camera system for insect recognition, embedded in an insect trap to remotely monitor pest pressure; and iMetos LoRain, a “new generation” of field weather stations.

Pessl’s FieldClimate platform of software and apps allows farmers and agronomists to get data from those in-field devices “from anywhere at any time,” the new company said in a release. Any data gathered from a farmer’s operation through those devices remains the property of the farmer, the company emphasized.

Pessl already uses the Metos brand to market its products and services in the ag sector and other industries in other countries, including the U.S.

Last year it also announced a co-operation agreement with Deere and Co., to integrate Metos hardware with the U.S. ag machinery firm’s cloud-based John Deere Operations Center.

Under the new partnership between Pessl and Glacier FarmMedia, Metos Canada’s certified partners will provide Canadian farmers and agronomists with training and support, to be backstopped by information delivered through Glacier FarmMedia’s learning management platform.

“Canadian producers now have more choices through innovative Metos product bundles, service, and support to improve their operational efficiency and competitiveness,” Pessl founder and CEO Gottfried Pessl said in the same release.

“At Glacier FarmMedia, we are focused on helping farmers find solutions to the challenges of managing inputs and allocating their human resources,” company president Bob Willcox said in the same release.

Canadian farmers, he said, “tell us they require more options for digital smart ag services that are easy to use, and supported by training and a local partner’s support.”

Metos Canada, “through our network of channel partners, will provide the smart farming technology and support needed to improve farm profitability and sustainability.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network