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Everyday Farmer
'Can't Put a Price on Calling Family': Connectivity Through Harvest at Yeelanna
Peter Glover, Farm Owner, Australia
Peter Glover runs a broadacre property in remote South Australia, where isolation affects more than just farm operations - it affects everyday contact with family too.
▶ Watch Peter's story (2:23)
Farming at Yeelanna, in the middle of the Eyre Peninsula, Glover's property sits in one of the region's worst connectivity black spots.
Connected Farms deployed its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) solution on the combines and chaser bins, giving the property reliable connectivity that holds up through harvest, not just around the homestead.
"The ability to be able to call anybody at anytime has been unprecedented for us... can't put a price on being able to call family at anytime," Glover says.
The same connectivity that keeps him in touch with family has also been a game-changer operationally during harvest. A permanent Wi-Fi "bubble" in the cab lets operators call the silo, grain receival terminals, suppliers, parts providers, and workshops on the move, and look up technical information whenever it's needed - even people doing morning maintenance can step into the bubble to make a call.
Yield maps now upload continuously, so everyone can see what's happening across the property in real time, and the farm gets automatic notifications when a load is delivered to the silo. In an emergency, such as a fire, the ability to make a call from anywhere on the property matters just as much.
Transcript
The ability to be able to call somebody at any time is unprecedented for us, and it’s been very refreshing.
I’m Peter Glover. We farm at Yeelanna, in the middle of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The area that we farm is in a couple of the worst black spots, so connectivity and internet availability have always been an issue for us.
Having the Connected Farms Satellite-on-the-Move system on the combines and chaser bins has been fantastic. One of the main advantages is the ability to make Wi-Fi calls from anywhere, whether we’re calling the silo, grain receival terminals, suppliers, parts providers or workshops.
Being able to call somebody at any time is unprecedented for us. In the cab, we’ve had the Wi-Fi bubble available to the operator at all times, and even in the mornings when we’re doing maintenance, people can stand in the bubble to make calls and look things up on the go.
Technical information can be accessed when it’s needed, and that’s something everybody has really appreciated.
The always-on, on-the-go data upload capability has also been great for uploading yield maps, so everybody can see what’s happening in real time. That’s a new thing for us.
The advantages of being connected at all times range across a whole number of things. Being able to receive notifications from the silo when a load has been delivered has been great, as has the ability to make a phone call in the event of a fire.
Even simple things, like phoning somebody at home to say I’ll be late tonight or early tonight, make a difference. Across that whole range of things, the ability to use a phone at any time has been a real advantage.
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