David Doll0 commentsFebruary 25, 2021Technology

Technology Corner: Q&A with Semios

EDITOR’S NOTE: This entry is part of an ongoing series to highlight a new technology related to almond and tree nut production. The question/answer format is set to focus more on the technical aspects and application of the technology. I would like to thank James Watson from Semios who took the time to answer my questions regarding their irrigation monitoring platform 1. Semios is a platform that links in a variety of sensors using IoT and on-farm networks. These sensors provide data for on-farm decision support. They include water monitoring tools, pest management tools for insects, and weather sensors. Would you be able to briefly describe the mission of Semios and how it works to integrate these various sensors? Semios subscribes to the philosophy that granular, in-canopy climate is the fundamental element of key crop decisions made by growers whether it’s the development of insect and disease pressure or water requirements of the plant. For this reason, the Semios solution always incorporates methods for monitoring climatic conditions at a granular level with the goal to optimize all resource inputs for the best possible crop result. Semios has developed a configurable platform approach in response to growers telling us how they want their agtech experience simplified. They don’t want to be buried in data or have to log into many different systems to get the information they need to make a decision. By bringing these important elements together into one streamlined system, Semios gives growers a holistic view of the information that informs their key crop management decisions. 2. Please describe the basic hardware and sensor systems utilized within the platform. The basic Semios offering includes at least one out-of-block weather station and, depending on acreage, one to many in-block weather stations tracking the core climatic conditions of the orchard. These stations

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David Doll0 commentsJanuary 31, 2021Technology

Technology Corner: Q&A w/ Phytech

EDITOR’S NOTE: This entry is part of an ongoing series to highlight a new technology related to almond and tree nut production. The question/answer format is set to focus more on the technical aspects and application of the technology. I would like to thank Mark Sherfy from Phytech who took the time to answer my questions regarding their irrigation monitoring platform. Phytech is an irrigation technology that monitors the tree’s water stress. Please describe the basic hardware system and software analysis that is behind Phytech’s irrigation management technology. Phytech has several different sensors in the field and each sensor has an important role to play in the overall puzzle. We are about understanding exactly what the tree needs and what it is feeling. The ‘bread and butter’ of our organization is our dendrometers, but we also have several other sensors such as water pressure, soil moisture probes, fruit sensors, frost sensors and loggers. By using all these sensors, we can give the grower daily irrigation recommendations and we display an intuitive color scheme that helps the grower understand the current plant status of the orchard. On top of this, we have just launched an analytical section on our website that displays all the season’s data in one area. This displays such things a heat maps, bar and line graphs over different periods of time. Varieties, blocks, and ranches can also be compared to see where adjustments need to be made. It is a tool that gives growers instant recommendations daily, but it’s also an analytical tool that can change the grower’s overall strategy. What crops have been successful in utilizing Phytech’s products? Quite a long list of crops. We have been extremely successful in the almond industry as we have found out that the ETc is not only different per orchard,

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David Doll0 commentsNovember 15, 2020Technology

Technology Corner: Questions to Ask Ag Tech Companies before Committing

Over the past 12 years, I have worked with several agricultural technology companies who have been interested in working within tree nuts. Companies have focused on a variety of issues, including water, bees, and aerial imagery. Some ideas have been great and have gone on to develop into successful companies. Others have failed to execute the idea or have overestimated the need within the industry. As I have shifted my role into farm management, I was overwhelmed with ag tech options. In reviewing, I found myself asking several of the same questions, regardless of the company and subject matter. Some of them may seem obvious, but they are also questions that can be easily overlooked. They are provided below. Please note that some contain multiple questions which help explore the line of inquiry. How does the technology work and how does it vary from the current market options? What hardware needs to be bought to fully integrate the system? Can hardware components from other companies be utilized with the system? What is the deliverable of the technology? What variables are being measured or recorded? How are these measurements developed into a recommendation? Is there any crop-specific research available to support the analysis utilized by the technology? Where were these studies performed? How many studies have been conducted and by whom?Note: There are many measured variables that may not have relevance to the crop or farming operation. Determine your priorities before meeting. Also, many companies state they are utilizing “machine learning” for developing recommendations. Even so, the “machine” needs to be taught by someone. Making recommendations off averages will lead to problems, and at best, an “average orchard.” Who are the competitors? What does this platform/hardware provide that they do not? What are the unique features that this company is offering?Note:

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