Automatic Weather Stations for Farming: Your Field Climate

Farmers and estate managers have long depended on the weather, yet available weather data often comes from stations tens of kilometres away. Rain in town may not fall on the field, and wind on the coast differs from wind in the valley. Key decisions such as when to irrigate, spray, or harvest are often based on estimates that do not reflect local conditions.

An automatic weather station in your own field closes that gap. This article covers what it measures, how the data drives daily decisions, and how to install it correctly.

What an automatic weather station measures

• Rainfall, in millimetres per hour and per day.
• Air temperature and humidity.
• Wind speed, and on some models, direction.
• Solar radiation, which drives photosynthesis and evaporation.
• UV index.

All data is recorded automatically every few minutes, building a history of your field's own microclimate.

Irrigation decisions

Rainfall data answers the most basic question: has the field had enough water? Irrigating after heavy rain wastes water and pump electricity and risks washing fertiliser away. Solar radiation, temperature, humidity, and wind also form the basis for estimating evapotranspiration, the water lost from soil and plants. Combined with soil moisture sensors, this data makes irrigation follow need rather than habit. The topic is covered in more depth in precision irrigation from soil moisture data.

Spraying windows

• Strong wind carries spray off target, wasting product and risking drift onto other areas.
• Rain after spraying can wash product off before it works.
• High temperature and low humidity speed up spray evaporation.

Real-time wind and rain data helps pick the most effective spraying window.

Crop disease risk

Many fungal diseases develop when high humidity lasts for long periods, especially at certain temperatures. Recording how many hours humidity stays above a threshold helps estimate risk periods, so field scouting and preventive action happen at the right time.

Installing a weather station

1. Choose an open area, away from buildings and tall trees that block rain, wind, and sunlight.
2. Mount at a consistent height and securely, so it does not sway in strong wind.
3. Keep the rain gauge level and clear of leaves and debris.
4. Plan the power supply, such as a solar panel and battery for fields without mains power.
5. Check the network: Wi-Fi near buildings, or a long-range gateway for large fields.

Building a field climate history

A weather station becomes more valuable every year. A local history of rainfall and temperature helps plan planting seasons, compare yields with weather, and make decisions from data that truly comes from your own field.

Example: estimating water need from weather

Evapotranspiration is usually expressed in millimetres per day, the same unit as rainfall. A simple illustration: if estimated evapotranspiration in your field is about 4 mm a day for a week, the crop loses about 28 mm of water. If 20 mm of rain fell that week, the shortfall is about 8 mm, which is what irrigation needs to supply, allowing for the efficiency of your irrigation system. The numbers are illustrative, but the reasoning helps avoid both overwatering and underwatering.

Linking weather to yields

After a season or two, weather data can be compared with harvest records. Did yields fall in seasons with more cloudy days? Did disease outbreaks rise after long periods of high humidity? Patterns like these are hard to see without local data, and they become the most valuable input for planning the next season.

Weather data is useful beyond crops, too. Field work such as fertilising, harvesting, or hauling produce can be scheduled better when managers know local rain patterns. For estates that employ many day workers, avoiding workdays cut short by rain means more efficient labour costs. All these benefits come from the same data, recorded automatically without daily manual logging.

Frequently asked questions

How is my own station different from BMKG data?

BMKG data represents a region and is very useful for forecasts. A station in your field records what actually happens at your site. The two complement each other.

Does a weather station need mains power?

Not necessarily. Weather stations can run on a solar panel and battery.

How many stations do we need?

For one area with similar conditions, one station is usually enough. Large or hilly land may need more than one.

Weather stations with INCLUDE

The IncludeBox Weather Station records rainfall, wind speed, solar radiation, UV index, and air temperature and humidity. Its data appears in InFarmer alongside soil sensor data, so irrigation, fertilising, and spraying decisions come from one dashboard. For data-driven fertilising, see our soil NPK sensor guide.