Precision agriculture portfolio expands

The company claims this move will offer expanded choices and innovative solutions, while underscoring Vantage’s commitment to provide precision agricultural solutions – helping farmers and growers to minimise input costs, maximise profits and optimise their operations.

As the only authorised reseller of Trimble Hardware and Software products in New Zealand, the addition of Carrfields’ offerings sees Vantage’s product range significantly broadened.

The company says existing customers can expect the continuation of customer support via precision ag specialists across New Zealand. Both Vantage and Carrfields says they are committed to a seamless transition process and ongoing services will proceed without interruption.

In addition to product and support continuity, customers will now have access to comprehensive training and educational resources, empowering them to maximise the potential of advanced solutions, such as METOS products.

METOS, by Pessl Instruments, is designed to provide precise, sitespecific meteorological insights. It provides farmers with the data needed to optimise decision-making processes and achieve efficiency in crop management. This is done by monitoring air and soil temperature, relative humidity, evapotranspiration, rainfall, wind speed and direction.

This advanced datadriven approach allows users to determine optimal irrigation and spraying schedules – based on real-time evapotranspiration and crop requirements. It can also help farmers to strategically schedule fertiliser applications based on soil nutrient levels and crop growth stages, minimising costs and maximising crop productivity.

The ability to monitor weather conditions in real-time also enables farmers to proactively mitigate risks associated with frost damage and other weather-related challenges.

Disease modelling has also been developed with leading scientists to utilise data from cloud-connected weather stations to predict disease progression of over 80 different diseases in 45-plus crops. This will allow growers to identify infection risks hourly, optimising fungicide application for enhanced crop protection and yield.

Likewise, an insect monitoring solution uses historical and realtime data to predict pest occurrences. This is achieved by utilising cameras and electronic traps with remote inspections, to reduce field visits and optimise pesticide application timing for efficient management.

At the core of METOS is its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with a diverse range of agricultural software and hardware systems. Vantage claims this makes it an accessible and indispensable tool for farmers of all scales and proficiency levels.

Business development manager and co-founder of Vantage Jemma Mulvihill is enthusiastic about this transition.

“We are committed to providing our customers the very best products and service. The METOS product range compliments and further enhances the range of products and services we can offer.”