In 2023, FAR set up a Moisture Monitoring project at its Kowhai Research Site in Lincoln to provide independent insights into the range of moisture monitoring systems available in New Zealand. This report covers findings from the first year of the trial and outlines key considerations when choosing a moisture monitoring system.
The project is being run in collaboration with a range of commercial moisture probe providers, who have installed several systems at the Kowhai Site and provided logins to the associated digital dashboards. This allows arable farmers to compare the systems in action and see for themselves how they might work in their businesses. The project will evaluate and report on the installations and the user interfaces for three years.