The challenge

Reliable, real-time monitoring of systems at remote farm buildings.

The solution

AgroAlarm uses Inmarsat’s BGAN M2M service to provide cost-effective and reliable assurance and monitoring for remote agricultural M2M systems.

When it comes to success in the agriculture sector, the health and wellbeing of crops and livestock under a farmer’s care are two crucial elements. One of the most significant investments a farmer makes is in the specialist buildings for the farm. Greenhouses, stables and grain silos all provide a fundamental part of a farmer’s operations and any faults or damage to them can seriously impact the wellbeing of animals, the quality of the product and ultimately the revenues that a farm generates.

For Chris Salimans, a modern farmer with several farms located in the Netherlands, reliable monitoring of alarms on buildings to provide notification of any faults are critical in maintaining the welfare of his animals. However, while many alarm systems can be operated successfully over cellular services or landlines, the remote locations of some farms, coupled with concerns over reliability and performance of these networks, present challenges in consistently monitoring faults.

“The Inmarsat BGAN M2M service has given us precisely the reliability, cost effectiveness, security and ease of use that we were looking for to protect our customers’ assets.”

Peter Post
Manager at PinC Agro

Salimans explains: “We house livestock in controlled environments so it’s important to maintain these to ensure the wellbeing of animals is of the highest calibre. However, power outages for example from lightning strikes and consequent high temperatures can quickly present a dangerous situation. As a sector, it’s important to farm responsibly and we need to be doing everything within our power to prevent cases of animal suffocation. Therefore, confidence in remote monitoring and alarm systems is crucial and, as such, reliable technologies that provide immediate risk warning are vital, especially for farms that are made up of dispersed and remote locations that can’t be reached by staff instantaneously.”