A sponsorship with Agfarm has meant the new stations will gather data, such as rainfall, temperature, humidity and wind speed and direction, and is available free to the public.

“BCG is delighted to have the support of Agfarm for the next three years to expand the network and help provide valuable information to farmers in the area,” BCG chief executive Chris Sounness said. 

“The four Davis Vantage Pro2 weather stations are strategically located throughout the Wimmera and Mallee regions of Victoria, giving growers access to almost real time weather data.”

Data would be transmitted directly to the farmer’s smartphone or computer via the GWMWater Taggle network. It will update every 15 minutes.

“The information allows farmers to make informed, on-the-ground decisions around fertiliser and spraying application and timing, haymaking and harvest prioritisation, among other things,” Mr Sounness said.

The network of 50 weather stations was also designed to assist growers gain farming efficiencies for the future.

“The more data gathered from these weather stations, the more efficiencies are created on-farm for the future,” Agfarm account manager Tim Hogarth said.

“Farming technologies are exploding all over the world, in terms of spraying and fertilising efficiencies, drone technology, GPS... Weather seems to be the one uncontrolled variable for growers, so gathering this data over a period of time, determining where patterns emerge, and the effects these have on crops grown can only be seen as a positive.”

BCG will soon open the purchase of another 50 weather stations to farmers with access to the GWMWater Taggle network, to install on their properties and utilise data specifically for themselves.