Real-Time Field Data — 24/7 IoT Monitoring of Your Farm

An old-school farmer looks at the sky and guesses when it will rain. A data-driven farmer opens an app and sees exact soil moisture at three depths, pH, air temperature, and a precise rain forecast for the next 72 hours. The difference: one guesses. The other knows.

What does a field IoT setup look like? A standard configuration for a 10-hectare parcel: three soil moisture probes (15/30/60 cm), one pH + EC sensor, one weather station, and a solar-powered LoRaWAN gateway. Total hardware: 700-1,200 EUR, plus 15-25 EUR/month for data.

What gets measured in real time?

• Soil moisture at multiple depths — reveals whether irrigation reaches the root zone or only the surface.
• pH and electrical conductivity (EC) — proxies for nutrient availability and salinity.
• Soil and air temperature — flags the optimal sowing window, critical during heat waves.
• Rainfall — hyperlocal, more accurate than a weather station 20 km away.

How does this change decisions? The Popovic family farm near Sombor used to irrigate corn every 7 days. After sensor installation, data showed the soil held moisture 10-12 days in May but only 4-5 days in July. Adjusting the schedule cut water use in half and raised yield by 12%.

Mobile alerts make it usable. Instead of checking a dashboard every day, the system texts you only when action is needed: “Moisture on Parcel 3 below 18% — irrigation recommended in the next 24h.” That is the difference between a dashboard and a real tool.

What to avoid? Cheap sensors without LoRaWAN support (Wi-Fi will not reach the field), Chinese platforms with no Serbian/English UI, and subscriptions that lock your data — if the vendor disappears, you lose your history.