Implementing remote monitoring
“It doesn’t matter which facet of our farm I think about: INCYT’s remote monitoring capabilities have helped us transform the way we manage our operation.”
Size: 1,200 hectares
Type: Row Crops & Sheep
Crops: Lucerne (irrigated), Wheat, Barley, Canola
Michael & Helen Payten used to travel around their farm most days in order to get critical information such as water tank levels, fuel tank levels and soil moisture. For weather-related information such as spray conditions or humidity for hay baling, they had to rely on data from over 50KMs away, making it inherently inaccurate. This way of working took up too much of their time and often led them to make less than optimal decisions.
Michael & Helen found out about INCYT through the NSW government’s’ Farms of the Future’ program which educated them on the range of Agtech solutions available to growers, as well as offering a 70% rebate on products purchased through the program. They decided to adopt a range of different in-field devices from INCYT in order to create the ideal custom dashboard for their farming operation.
With the INCYT dashboard, Michael, Helen and their employees now have the farm’s key information at their fingertips at all times, enabling them to optimise their decision-making process. Their employees now have objective data for optimum hay baling and spraying crops, without having to guess if the conditions are right. Michael and Helen now also have peace of mind that their water tanks are full without constantly having to drive to the actual water tanks scattered around their property and no longer have to worry about running out of fuel without warning.
Creating peace of mind through data
Michael & Helen Payten, together with Michael’s brother John and three employees, farm around 1,200 hectares at ‘Alfalfa’, Canowindra, with 100 of those hectares irrigated with spray lines. Their main crops are wheat, barley, canola and lucerne hay, while also running first cross sheep. With such a diverse operation that is busy throughout the year with virtually no down-time, repetitive tasks that continuously take a lot of time have to be eliminated as much as possible. Tank level monitoring is one such task that Michael was keen to eliminate: “We used to spend a lot of time driving around the property checking full water tanks: not because we were worried that they were full, but because we were worried that they were empty. This creates extra workload for the team and a mental load for me as well, so we knew we needed to do something about that. We did have a water tank level monitor for a year, but that technology failed way too soon and the supplier wasn’t interested in fixing the situation, so we started looking at the different suppliers available to us.
When the New South Wales government announced the Farms of the Future program in 2023, offering farmers grants of up to $35,000 to cover 70% of the cost of adopting eligible agtech, the Paytens jumped at the opportunity and went to a workshop to immerse themselves and learn more. Helen: “We learned about all the different suppliers and technology out there and what could potentially work on our farm. Not long after, INCYT came to Canowindra with their discovery centre trailer as part of a roadshow, which helped us make the decision to buy our equipment from INCYT and implement that into our operation."
Spreading knowledge across the team
Michael and Helen have a very diverse team of people in their operation; from someone who has worked with the family for 42 years, to a 22 year-old who only joined the team a couple of years ago: a great balance of experience and strengths. With having such a diverse team, it becomes even more important to share and spread knowledge as much as possible says Michael: “We use AgriWebb for our livestock management and Agworld for our cropping management, which is a great way to record information and share it with the team and advisors, like our agronomist.
There was still a lot of information, however, that only I had access to, and this made it difficult for us to be away from the farm and didn’t enable our employees to work as independently as they could otherwise.” Once the INCYT equipment was installed however, this all changed for Michael: “I am now no longer the only one that has this information, which is good for us as a business. Everyone now has access to the INCYT app and can see how much is in each water tank, how much fuel we have left in the fuel tank, the soil moisture profile in certain paddocks, as well as live and local weather conditions. Our team has really stepped up and taken ownership of everything they can, now that they have this data. This gives me peace of mind that nothing goes unnoticed when we’re away from the farm.”
Distributing leadership
Having access to accurate and local weather information through INCYT is one of Michael’s favourite features: “Not having to rely on data from Cowra airport, over 50 kilometres away, is a major benefit for us as we now know exactly what’s happening. Last year Helen and I were in Paris for the Rugby World Cup and, while we’re sitting having breakfast, I noticed that a frost event was happening at home on the farm. This was of great concern as it was mid-October and late frosts can potentially cause great harm. The knowledge allowed me to call my agronomist right away and get him in the paddock as soon as possible to conduct a damage assessment. This helped me make the best possible crop management decision. Whether we need to cut the cereal for hay, grow it out, stop spending money on it, or whatever the case may be: getting frosted is not good, but I’d rather know than not know. And with INCYT I have this information when I need it: straight away. And even when I’m on holiday, I’d rather spend 10 minutes looking at it than wondering all day; it gives me peace of mind.”
Weather information from INCYT’s weather station and inversion tower is available to the whole team, which has helped with distributing the ability to make decisions across the team says Helen: “Instead of us having to tell one of our employees when to start or stop spraying due to the weather conditions, they can now see this for themselves and make sure they are doing the right thing every time.” Michael adds: “The same principle applies to baling our lucerne hay: The humidity level needs to be just right in order to be able to bale and press bales with the right moisture content and, therefore, optimum quality. Instead of someone starting too early or stopping too late, or relying on me to tell them when they’re good to go based mainly on my experience, they now know the exact parameters and can see on the INCYT app when the conditions are right for baling hay. The mental load this has taken off me, and the ability it has given our team to take ownership, is incredible. It doesn’t matter which facet of our farm I think about: INCYT’s remote monitoring capabilities have helped us transform the way we manage our operation.”
