There are two kinds of information that are important for Pessl Instruments: “ground truth” and expected forecasts. The Austria-based company claims that it offers a one-of-a-kind tool for farmers:

“What we do is we measure the ground truth,” Gottfried Pessl, President of Pessl Instruments said. “That means what’s going on actually on the field of the farmers but we now also bring in the weather forecast. The weather forecast comes from a Swiss company we have teamed up with and this Swiss company delivers us a five day weather forecast in real-time for that particular farm.”

Gottfried adds that the technology is based entirely on the internet giving farmers the option of accessing the “ground truth” and weather forecast information on any internet capable electronic device, such as a cell phone.

“We have a wireless system which brings the data in a centralized server and through that centralized server our clients can worldwide have real time access to the data,” Gottfried said.

The information collected from Pessl Instruments, Gottfried explained, is valuable for irrigation management for plant protection requirements. He says the collected data can help farmers “optimize the use of the chemicals, to prevent the diseases to prevent insect pest outbreaks and also to have a full traceability of their crop.” Plus, he says using weather forecast data together with real-time weather helps farmers schedule their farm operations associated with the weather, such as harvest sprays.

“Most of the activities on the farm are very much dependent on if the weather is good or the weather is bad,” Gottfried said.

The company now exports tools and technology to about 70 countries.

I interviewed Gottfried about his products and technology. You can listen to my interview with Gottfried here:
gottfried-pessl-preag-08.mp3