Five reasons why commercial growers need irrigation management software

sarah.zhen@waybeyond.io (Sarah Zhen) — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:36:55 GMT

By 2030, the global demand for freshwater is expected toexceed supply by 40%.Commercial growers worldwide are under pressure to make smarter, more informed decisions about water use, and to make every drop of water count as they strive to maintain healthy crops and achieving sustainable yields.

AgTech’s Golden Hour: Why the Future of Food Needs Smarter Capital and Even Smarter Data

Darryn Keiller — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 21:00:00 GMT

After a turbulent year for global markets, AgTech is stepping into 2025 with cautious optimism. Investment may have cooled, but make no mistake: this is not a retreat. It’s a realignment.

Cultivating better crop outcomes with real-time alerts

sarah.zhen@waybeyond.io (Sarah Zhen) — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:00:00 GMT

Managing crop production is an ever-changing landscape which comes with many challenges. Navigating these challenges requires growers to have key plant and climate information at their fingertips in order to respond. That's why the ability to receive real-time alerts is not just an advantage – it's a necessity for the modern grower. Let's examine the role that alerts play in helping enterprise growers make better crop management decisions.

Safeguarding crop production

In an increasingly turbulent world of unpredictable and sometimes extreme weather events, growers face the challenge ofmaintaining crop healthand safe-guarding production. As shifts in climate can lead to pest infestations, disease outbreaks or direct damage to fruit, growers must be vigilant. Minimizing the risk of damage to crops due to temperature changes or humidity shifts requires prompt action. Alerts function as early warnings when climate falls outside specified parameters, enabling growers to take pre-emptive action to avoid or mitigate the impact.

African Blue's Success Story:African Bluesuccessfully averted potential crop damage by leveraging FarmRoad's alert feature. Timely notifications about frost risk enabled them to protect their 470 hectares of blueberry production.

The testimonial by Aziz El Kahlaoui,African Blue Horticultural Manager highlights his experience using real-time alerts: “With alert functions, we can better manage our response to potential frost and disease risk. For me, and also for other senior managers, it's a help to have an alert on my phone so I can check with the field manager to make sure they are making the right decisions for the situation.”

Enabling optimal conditions for plant growth

Balancing resources is key to managing crop performance. Below are examples of how alerts could redefine resource management strategies.

Optimizing Temperature and Climate Management. Growers can leverage temperature alerts to analyze the impact of temperature events on plant growth. Additionally, FarmRoad’s Data Studio offers a user-friendly interface for visualizing graphs and spotting trends, enhancing analytical capabilities.
Maintaining Optimal VPD Levels for Active Growth and Stress Reduction. Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) is a crucial metric in agriculture to determine the impact of plant stress on plant transpiration. Growers can use VPD alerts to ensure adequate transpiration for optimal plant growth.

Avoiding risk of disease outbreaks

Growers know that diseases can spread rapidly if not addressed promptly. Real-time alerts for disease risk empower them to stay one step ahead, avoiding conditions which lead to disease development. Furthermore, alerts provide crucial information for taking prompt remedial action, such as applying preventative sprays to maintain the health of their crops.

Alerts to the right team member via the right channel

The vast differences in infrastructure and services at enterprise-sized farms means growers should have a choice of alert communication channels. For example: email alerts may not be practical in areas with limited internet connectivity, and so using text or WhatsApp messaging is an essential alternative for reaching farm staff on the move. Being able to customize notifications so that alerts are only sent to specific teams or individuals ensures they only receive alerts when necessary.

How implementing digital agronomy elevated African Blue’s blueberry production

sarah.zhen@waybeyond.io (Sarah Zhen) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 21:30:00 GMT

African Blueis a blueberry producer based in North Africa, majority owned byCosta Group, Australia’s leading grower and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Applying AI To CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture)

sarah.zhen@waybeyond.io (Sarah Zhen) — Tue, 17 May 2022 19:00:00 GMT

AI, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Neural Networks. The words may be familiar or be a total mystery. Only recently have those terms been used in conjunction with agriculture and often as part of a marketing ploy because it sounds futuristic.

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