Netafim will supply North American growers with Sentek’s soil sensors, which will be integrated with its NetBeat irrigation management platform

Netafim

Netafim to distribute Sentek’s soil moisture sensors. (Credit: Netafim/Business Wire.)

Netafim’s subsidiary Netafim USA has entered into a partnership with Sentek Technologies to distribute Sentek’s soil moisture sensors in the US.

Through the agreement, Netafim can now help North American growers in equipping them with a complete digital farming solution.

The solution is touted to integrate automated irrigation control, fertigation and crop protection recommendations through NetBeat, its irrigation and fertigation management platform.

NetBeat is a cloud-based monitoring, control and management solution that offers actionable field insights to growers. By integrating Sentek sensors, growers can now more precisely take irrigation decisions and achieve better crop results while water, fertiliser and energy usages are optimised.

The partnership between Netafim and Sentek can also offer growers the ability to gradually ‘scale-up’ their digital farming investments, from sensor-only deployments to full-scale automation as well.

Netafim digital farming commercial lead Roy Levinson said: “Soil Moisture Profile sensors are a critical tool for evaluating the true moisture content and movement of water through the soil. Especially for subsurface drip irrigation and deep-rooted permanent crops.

“Sentek has a strong reputation for quality and their products are already widely adopted by growers. This partnership gives Netafim the ability to satisfy the growing demand of progressive growers who are looking for better tools to manage their irrigation scheduling.”

The soil sensors can be calibrated based on soil type for accurate irrigation

Sentek’s soil moisture sensors use capacitance-based technology to offer near-continuous measurement of the soil profile and moisture content.

The company claims that its soil moisture probes allow for user-defined or site-specific calibration, which is unlike other brands. The ability to account for different soil types can deliver greater accuracy, leading to more timely responses, better and improved crop control and management.

Netafim USA president and CEO Mike Hemmansaid: “As industry leaders in the development of innovative solutions for the precision agriculture marketplace, this partnership is a natural fit for both Netafim and Sentek.

“We are excited to expand our digital farming solutions. By seamlessly integrating with the most innovative technologies available, Netafim is giving growers the ability to make farming decisions based on real-time field insights.”