Agricultural Soil Moisture Monitoring

A & R Spada Farms LLC, an Oregon nursery, uses an automated soil monitoring system to optimize irrigation.

Background:
Oregon's fertile Willamette Valley -- blessed with rich soil, abundant rainfall and moderate temperatures -- is an agricultural paradise.  Although famous for its berries, fruits, nuts and grapes, Oregon's largest agricultural product is actually nursery stock.  With over 4000 acres in production, A & R Spada Farms, LLC plays a big part in helping produce the $670 Million worth of product that makes Oregon the 3rd largest producer of nursery stock in the U.S.   Producing over 200 different varieties of plants, A & R Spada Farms has always emphasized exceptional quality which is evident in their flagship product; Emerald Green Arborvitae. 

Problem Statement:
The production of nursery stock requires water.  The nursery produces over 200 different varieties of plants each with unique and variable root systems and with plants at all stages of development.  This makes effective use of irrigation resources critical, since any water that is not within the effective root zone of the plants is effectively wasted.  To help increase irrigation effectiveness and efficiency, A & R Spada needed data on soil moisture in order to better manage their irrigation resources.

Solution Description:
MeasureTek provided A & R Spada Farms with a monitoring system that:

1. Automatically measures  soil moisture
2. Measures irrigation and rainfall
3. Measures air temperatures
4. Measures soil temperatures

The solution has three separate monitoring stations installed in separate nursery blocks.  The monitoring stations can be moved from block to block as required.  Each station is equipped with a Campbell Scientific CR206X data logger to monitor the various sensors.  Communications is accomplished through the built-in spread spectrum radios in the data loggers.  The rain gauges do "double duty" since they are installed at a height that allows them to catch irrigation water as well as natural rainfall, and provides the system with the data necessary to determine irrigation application rate.  The Base Station is located at the A & R Spada office, where data is continuously updated and available for monitoring.

Result:
The system provides real-time feedback on soil moisture as well as irrigation application.  A & R Spada Farms is able to use this data to optimize conditions for the nursery stock while allowing them to recognize savings on both labor and on water application costs.

For more information on this or other applications, please contact MeasureTek at (541) 924-8988 or visit our website at www.measuretek.com.