WayBeyond's new AI-powered forecasting tool gives protected cropping growers control over their water usage

Globally, around 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture. This puts pressure on farmers and growers to maximize the use of this increasingly scarce resource. Additionally, heatflation and unpredictable weather patterns from a changing climate are disrupting water supplies and crop production, presenting further challenges for growers.   

As part of WayBeyond's industry-leading FarmRoad platform, WayBeyond has added a new AI-powered Irrigation Forecast Dashboard that enables growers to accurately forecast irrigation needs and optimize water usage, allowing them to implement more efficient and climate-resilient irrigation strategies.  

″As climate threats escalate, we are dedicated to supporting growers worldwide with digital tools to help water management,″ said Darryn Keiller, Founder and CEO of WayBeyond. ″Our new Irrigation Forecast Dashboard is a comprehensive decision support tool, enabling protected cropping growers to optimize their irrigation practices and achieve the best crop yield outcomes.″ 

FarmRoad's Irrigation Forecast Dashboard combines localized climate data with sophisticated water demand models to provide integrated insights for decision-making. Growers can use data from the previous day’s irrigation, current conditions, and future forecasts in the tool to refine their daily irrigation planning. They can tailor their irrigation scheduling based on their crops' water requirements and local conditions, resulting in more efficient water use, and improved crop health and productivity. 

Removing guesswork from irrigation planning

The FarmRoad platform integrates with Spire, who provide highly accurate AI-enhanced weather data, to offer local weather forecasts that are far more reliable than generic weather apps. 

″Many growers rely on local weather apps that often pull data from a single weather station, like the nearest airport,″ explains Keiller. ″These generalized forecasts do not accurately reflect the actual conditions on the farm, leading to poor decisions around irrigation, pests and disease prevention, and overall crop management.″ 

FarmRoad's Irrigation Forecast Dashboard includes hourly outdoor climate forecasts for temperature, radiation, Vapor Pressure Deficit and a reference evapotranspiration for up to 48 hours ahead. It also provides daily weather and evapotranspiration forecasts up to 7 days ahead. Growers can identify the times of day when their crops need the most water and adjust irrigation accordingly. 

″Extreme weather events such as droughts and heatwaves are becoming more frequent, and they can severely threaten crop viability. By leveraging FarmRoad, growers can anticipate conditions and take proactive measures to mitigate these potentially devastating weather-related losses,″ adds Keiller. 

WayBeyond provides advanced digital agronomy solutions for major growers and seed producers, with trusted partnerships with leading horticulture companies worldwide, including Bayer Crop Science, African Blue, and Azura Group. 

With the focus on customer support and agronomy services, WayBeyond ensures that growers can benefit from adopting digital agronomy and stay in the game now and in the future.