Smart farming covers a broad range of use cases from simple soil monitors for arable farms to high-precision, connected agricultural machineries and equipment that need to be operated accurately to the centimeter level. Selecting the best module for smart farming is highly dependent on which use case you’re looking to address.

A soil sensor might rely on a low power connection such as LoRa or narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) to communicate relatively small amounts of data about conditions such as soil moisture, fertilizer content or acidity levels. With soil probes deployed in high volumes across fields, connection to a local gateway is normally all that is required from a networking perspective. Probes also are battery powered, so energy efficient modules are needed. Finally, the high-volume nature of deployments means that overall device costs need to be minimized.

The best module for this type of power-constrained, relatively low data transmission, short distance, low-cost use smart farming case could be a low power wide area (LPWA) NB-IoT module, such as Quectel’s BC65 or BC92. Wi-Fi options can also be utilized, such as Quectel’s Wi-SUN KCM0A5S modules or the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth SG885-G-WF smart module, which is ideal for condition-based monitoring in agriculture. Longer-range Wi-Fi, in the form of Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi HaLow, are being adopted more frequently to enable connectivity for smart farming.

Ideal modules for animal trackers

Livestock can also be tracked and monitored, and module selection here depends on the coverage area needed as animals move across farms. Cattle, for example, are relatively high value animals that can carry robust devices. They can be monitored using cellular connectivity in the form of LoRaWAN and GPS.

Quectel’s L76-L GPS module, for example, has been selected by VestiTech for its SPURO-X platform for tracking herds. Cellular connectivity in the form of LTE is also adopted to support smart farming applications, such as with the Quectel EC21 Mini PCIe LTE Cat 1 module, which has been chosen by FarmGO for its Saraccure agri weather stations.

Moving further up the value chain, many smart farming applications are vehicle or equipment based. Tractors, for example, need to communicate with manufacturers to enable predictive alarms, maintenance, and ensure guaranteed uptime. Machinery such as combine harvesters and other equipment routinely utilize cellular connections.

Choosing modules for more complex smart farming demands

The need to monitor these assets and enable frequent communication means that cellular solutions such as LTE-Advanced are increasingly adopted. Modules such as Quectel’s LTE-A and C-V2X AG52xR modules are a good fit for the higher data demands of complex agricultural vehicles.

Precision agriculture relies on very accurate coordinate information to ensure ploughing and sowing can be performed accurately, with crops planted in exactly the right position. This position precision is enabled by global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technologies, and Quectel GNSS modules are widely utilized in support of this.

The Quectel L76-L, which supports concurrent reception of GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS constellations provides the high sensitivity, position accuracy and fast tracking that smart farming use cases demand. Other popular GNSS modules include the Quectel LG290P quad-band module and the LC02H, which are ideal for condition-based monitoring use cases. The Quectel LG69T series is also widely deployed in support of agricultural applications that demand precise location.

When selecting your smart farming module, start with the use case and your desired outcomes before working backwards through coverage requirements, power constraints, cost optimization, and data transmission volume to arrive at your ideal module. Don’t forget, choosing a module supplier that can support your entire deployment can help you accelerate time to market and simplify issues such as antenna integration and certification. Choosing the right smart farming module is an essential ingredient to project success, but it should also be part of a rapid, streamlined development process that addresses common deployment challenges.