John Deere Field Connect Helps Producers Monitor Soil Moisture

OLATHE, Kansas (October 26, 2012) – With water management becoming an increasingly important factor in crop production, John Deere introduces John Deere Field Connect to provide site specific water management data to facilitate the decision making process surrounding irrigation practices. With site specific information, producers are able to more efficiently utilize irrigation inputs resulting in fuel savings and additional yield potential. The Field Connect system continuously logs soil moisture data from probes installed in customer fields and transmits the data to a website that customers can access remotely.

Nicholas Shafer, product manager for the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group, says John Deere Field Connect is a fully integrated system that includes three different probe options, solar panel, as well as both a satellite and cellular data connection. Field specific soil moisture data is transmitted to a secure website for viewing, and customers can program the system to receive alerts based on set parameters.

"John Deere Field Connect features multiple capacitance sensors placed at specific depths for measuring volumetric soil moisture levels," Shafer explains. "The Field Connect gateway unit logs the moisture data from each sensor, stores it and transmits it to the John Deere Field Connect web application. When customers access the data on the website, they can select from a variety of graph types to view the data."

Field Connect graphs soil moisture readings at the individual sensor level (soil depth) and over the entire monitored soil profile, and shows water movement within the profile over time. The system can be customized to each field depending on the type of crops grown, soil type and water management objectives of each customer. Producers will be able to integrate the data from John Deere Field Connect with yield, soil type, fertility and other agronomic information to more effectively optimize the productivity of each field.

"Knowing exactly how much water is in the soil and at what depth is becoming even more important to producers as they try to manage water resources most efficiently for maximum yields," Shafer says. "John Deere Field Connect is the latest tool they can use to help them optimize inputs, reduce crop stress from too much or too little moisture, and manage fuel and other costs in producing their crops."