Making objective agronomic choices with digital technology
The experience of the Azienda Agricola Negro farm, which uses the xSense station to gain a better understanding of its fields and to make effective decisions quickly and easily.
| Nome | Azienda Agricola Negro Mario |
| Indirizzo | Strada Provinciale P.Novi, 95, Concordia sulla Secchia (MO) |
| Colture | Barbabietola, erba medica, frumento e mais da granella |
| Prodotti finali | Vendita del raccolto |
| Estensione | 36 ha |
| Corpi aziendali | Due sedi aziendali cerealicole |
We interviewed Daniele Negro, an 18-year-old student and assistant at the Negro Mario farm.
The company was founded 35 years ago with a focus on cereal and livestock, but over the years, it has discontinued breeding activities and has increasingly specialized in open field crops, integrating experimental seed tests and the use of plant protection products.
In addition to working in the family business, Daniele studied at the Ignazio Calvi Agricultural Technical Institute, where he was introduced to xFarm and the xSense weather station, which he has been testing for about a year.
The xSense weather station is equipped with a rain gauge, an anemometer for measuring the wind, a sensor for measuring air temperature and humidity, a photovoltaic panel for power, a light meter, a barometer, a camera to monitor crop progress and a probe planted in the ground for measuring soil humidity and temperature.
These sensors generate simple data, but this data helps Daniele and his family to understand, in numerical terms, what is happening in the field. By combining data readings with in-field inspections, Daniele can therefore decide when and how much to irrigate, when to carry out treatments and when to search for possible soil movement caused by wind erosion.
The data is sent directly to the xFarm platform, which enables fast and easy consultation
“The thing I like most about xSense is remote control with my smartphone: wherever I am, I can see all the data and decide whether to enter the field for irrigation and treatments. In addition, I find the camera very useful: it allows me to have a history of the evolution of symptoms on my plants and I can show it to the agronomist to help him recognize the disease and understand the severity of the attack”
The purpose of the xSense station is to provide a low-cost history of the most important agroecological parameters in an easy-to read-format and, combination with the farmer’s experience, to make better decisions.
Daniele Negro is a young testimony to how digital technology can be used to make more objective decisions quickly and easily.