"Vantage Vue is a great acquisition for the farm"

Bill Dodd is an arable farmer based in the North East growing wheat, barley and OSR. His family have been tenant farmers on the Duke of Northumberland's land since 1890. The 260ha farm is located near to Warkworth in the Northumberland Coastal Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Part of the land on the farm is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is in the higher level scheme by DEFRA to improve the environment.

EnviroMonitors take part and attend agricultural and industry events throughout the year. Bill came to purchase a weather station from EnviroMonitors after meeting the team at Cereals 2012. He had previously used a basic hobbyist weather station but wanted to invest in a station that would have more longevity.

The Davis Vantage Vue Weather Station with WeatherLink USB was the station of choice for Bill. The ability to keep accurate weather records were key as was being able to compare trends rather than anecdotally saying ‘this time last year the weather was worse’. “I look at the station console first thing in the morning and glance at it when I’m in the house. The fact that it can still communicate with the base station through the thick farmhouse walls is a huge bonus, as the previous model had to be kept on a windowsill in clear line-of-sight with the old weather station. I usually download data once a fortnight and this is when I usually look at the graphs unless there are specific weather occasions to look at. Accurate, automatic rainfall readings are a particular boon as I invariably failed to remember to empty the old rainfall gauge!”. By using the WeatherLink software Bill is able to compare annual weather records to prove his thoughts on the year’s crop performance.

The WeatherLink USB data logger and software give Bill the confidence to make the most informed decisions to spray his crops when he feels the time is right. Having the records to prove the wind direction is favourable and not directed towards neighbouring land gives Bill peace of mind. The historical data can be analysed and used to back up any decisions made in case of complaints towards the farm practices.

Bill found that EnviroMonitors were “very good to deal with, had very good info at the stand at Cereals and during follow-up calls, it wasn’t over sold which is nice nowadays.” He continues “I would thoroughly recommend the Davis Vantage Vue Weather Station, it is a great acquisition for the farm.”

Bill has been very pleased with the station, so much so that he is looking to the future and the possibility of upgrading to another station “If I had realised how good the station was going to be I may well have opted for the Vantage Pro2”. The Davis Vantage Pro2 can provide additional readings for example solar radiation, UV, soil moisture and leaf wetness, the rain collector can be mounted away from the wind sensor and therefore at a more suitable measuring height.