The herd loses condition
before anyone sees the problem
Temperature, humidity and air movement measurement for housed stock, with the outside reference that ventilation control acts on and three-axis sensing where air distribution is the question.
The cost appears weeks after the cause
Housed stock respond to temperature, humidity and air movement continuously, and they respond well before anything looks wrong. Growth rate, feed conversion and condition all move first, and they move quietly.
By the time a welfare or performance problem is visible, the conditions that caused it happened some weeks earlier, often at night, and nobody was standing in the building to see them.
Ventilation control is what holds the inside stable, and it acts on outside conditions. A control system working from a poor external reference produces an internal environment that is wrong in a way that never triggers an alarm.
One holding. Multiple measurement points.
A farm is not one measurement environment.
Wind at the field boundary can be different from the regional forecast. Conditions inside a grain store are different from those outside it. Water levels change with use and rainfall. Machinery develops wear while the rest of the operation continues around it.
Spray application and drift
Whether you can spray is a wind decision, and the record of that decision is the thing an inspector or a neighbour asks to see.
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, temperature, humidity and pressure in one unit
- WindSonic 60 0 to 60 m/s, 0.5 kg, mounts on the sprayer
- MaxiMet GMX200 wind only, 0.5 kg, for a field-edge mast
Field weather station
The farm and the nearest official station are usually tens of kilometres and one valley apart, and the decisions are made on the farm.
- MaxiMet GMX551 wind, T, H, P, solar and rainfall in one housing
- MetConnect THP Pt100 and analogue inputs for soil probes
- MaxiMet GMX550 wind, T, H, P and rainfall without solar
Irrigation scheduling
Irrigating on a timer wastes water and energy. Irrigating on measured evapotranspiration and rainfall does not.
- MaxiMet GMX551 solar, wind, T, H, P and rainfall for the ET calculation
- MaxiMet GMX301 solar radiation only, 0 to 1600 W per square metre
- TruMet PW100 optical rainfall, 0 to 200 mm/hr, no bucket to block
Glasshouse and polytunnel climate
Vents, screens and heating all respond to outside conditions, and a control system acting on yesterday’s assumption costs a crop rather than a day.
- MetConnect THP temperature 0.2 degrees C, humidity 1.5 percent RH
- MaxiMet GMX501 wind, T, H, P and solar for vent and screen control
- Blade position sensors non-contact vent and screen actuator feedback
Grain store and crop storage
Stored grain is a season of work sitting in a shed, and it is lost to temperature and moisture rather than to anything dramatic.
- MetConnect THP temperature and humidity, Pt100 input for probes
- MaxiMet GMX300 temperature, humidity and pressure, no wind
- MaxiMet GMX400 adds rainfall for the outside reference
Livestock housing and ventilation
Housed stock lose condition to heat and humidity before anyone sees a problem, and the ventilation control needs to know what is happening outside.
- MetConnect THP temperature 0.2 degrees C, humidity 1.5 percent RH
- WindMaster 3-axis air-flow measurement for ventilation control
- MaxiMet GMX500 outside reference for the shed control system
Slurry, water and fuel tanks
A slurry store overtopping is a pollution incident with a fine attached, and the level is usually checked by looking.
- LevelSlick FEP coated for viscous and particulate liquids
- LevelPro stainless steel, IP66 and IP68, no moving parts
- DD1615 level display local display at the store
Tractor and machinery condition
A machine goes down in the two weeks of the year it is needed, and the wear that stopped it was in the oil months earlier.
- WearDetect oil debris sensing for ferrous wear particles
- LevelLite fuel and hydraulic level, IP68, voltage or current output
- Blade position sensors non-contact implement and actuator position
Rainfall measurement
Rainfall decides travel, application windows and irrigation, and a gauge that blocks with straw dust stops reporting in harvest.
- TruMet PW100 optical, 0 to 200 mm/hr, 5 percent, no moving parts
- MaxiMet GMX603 integrated optical rainfall, 5 percent or better
- MaxiMet GMX551 rainfall alongside wind, T, H, P and solar
Soil and evapotranspiration
Crop water demand is calculated from solar radiation, temperature, humidity and wind, so the weather station is doing agronomy rather than reporting.
- MaxiMet GMX551 all four ET inputs plus rainfall in one housing
- MetConnect THP four-wire Pt100 to IEC 60751 for soil probes
- MaxiMet GMX301 solar radiation, 0 to 1600 W per square metre
Frost risk and protection
Frost protection runs all night on the strength of a temperature reading, and it costs money whether or not the frost arrives.
- MetConnect THP temperature accuracy 0.2 degrees C, Pt100 input
- MaxiMet GMX400 temperature, humidity, pressure and rainfall
- WindSonic M heated, operating to -40 degrees C
Harvest and drying decisions
Harvest moisture and drying cost are decided against the weather, in a window measured in days, on figures that came from somewhere else.
- MaxiMet GMX551 wind, T, H, P, solar and rainfall on the farm
- MetConnect THP humidity accuracy 1.5 percent RH at 25 degrees C
- MaxiMet GMX603 high-accuracy optical rainfall
Buffer zones and boundaries
Buffer zones and neighbour complaints both come down to wind direction at the time of application, recorded rather than remembered.
- MaxiMet GMX200 wind only, 0.5 kg, for a boundary mast
- WindSonic 60 0 to 360 degrees with no dead band
- MetConnect One logs to SDI-12, Modbus or a farm data platform
Worker conditions and heat
Seasonal labour works long days outdoors and in glasshouses, where air temperature understates what the heat is doing to them.
- MaxiMet GMX552 WBGT heat stress with wind, T, H and P, 1.29 kg, IP66
- MaxiMet GMX500 wind, temperature, humidity and pressure
- MetConnect THP reference temperature and humidity
Remote power and telemetry
A field station has no mains and no daily visit, so the power budget decides whether it is still reporting in February.
- MetConnect THP 5 to 30 V DC, less than 70 mA at 12 V DC
- MaxiMet GMX200 0.5 kg, single supply, minimal draw
- MetConnect One SDI-12 v1.3 into an existing farm logger
Calibration and assurance
Farm assurance schemes and application records are audited, and an instrument nobody has verified is a finding waiting to happen.
- UKAS-accredited air velocity calibration traceable certification for anemometers
- Multi-parameter calibration six parameters, equipment from any manufacturer
- Recalibration scheduling intervals, reminders and turnaround
Temperature and humidity set the target, air movement delivers it
Temperature and humidity together determine the thermal environment the animal actually experiences, which is why humidity is not a secondary parameter in a housing context. The same temperature is a different environment at different humidity.
Air movement is what distributes that environment through the building, and it is the part most often assumed rather than measured. A house can hold an acceptable average while containing a draught at one end and a dead zone at the other.
Measuring air movement properly means measuring direction as well as speed, and often the vertical component too, because that is what describes whether air is reaching the animal or passing above it.
Outside, the reference drives the control. Wind, temperature, humidity and rain decide what the ventilation system has to do, and a reference sited in shelter tells the system the wrong thing all winter.
Distribution, not average
An average condition across a house says very little about the environment at any particular pen. Draughts, dead zones and short-circuiting air all sit inside an acceptable average, and stock respond to where they are standing.
WindMaster provides three-axis measurement at 20 Hz with options up to 32 Hz, which resolves direction and the vertical component rather than reporting a scalar air speed. That is what distinguishes air reaching the animal from air passing over it.
Where the air goes, not how much
View WindMasterWhat the ventilation is reacting to
Ventilation control decisions are made against external conditions, so the external measurement is effectively part of the control loop rather than a piece of background information.
MaxiMet brings wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall into one unit on one cable, and ultrasonic wind measurement removes the rotating element that fouls with dust and feed particles on a livestock site.
One reference, sited to represent the site
View MaxiMetPerformance is reviewed against the batch
Growth rate, feed conversion and mortality are reviewed batch by batch, and the explanation for a poor batch is usually environmental. Without a conditions record the review is a discussion; with one it is an analysis.
The same record supports assurance and welfare requirements, which increasingly ask for evidence that the environment was managed rather than a statement that it was.
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited laboratory operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer across temperature, humidity, pressure, air velocity and flow.
What a livestock building measures
The internal environment the stock experience, the air movement that distributes it, and the external reference the control system acts on.
Air movement and environment
WindMaster
3-axis ultrasonic anemometer
Three-axis measurement resolving direction and the vertical component, which is what describes whether air reaches the animal.
WindUltra
Compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
A small 2-axis anemometer for positions inside a building where size and wash-down resistance both matter.
MetConnect
Separable sensors for WMO-compliant siting
Separable sensors with analogue and Pt100 inputs, for temperature and humidity measured at several points in a house.
Outside reference
MaxiMet
All-in-one weather station, no moving parts
Wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall from one unit, sited to represent the site rather than a sheltered corner.
WindSonic
Lightweight 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
Lightweight ultrasonic wind measurement where the ventilation strategy is constrained by external wind.
TruMet PW100
Infrared optical rain gauge
Optical rainfall measurement with nothing to block with dust or feed particles.
Where livestock housing measurement does the work
Broiler and layer houses
Environments where small deviations move feed conversion measurably within a batch.
Farrowing and finishing
Buildings with different thermal requirements in the same structure.
Heat stress and ventilation
Housing where summer conditions affect yield before they affect welfare visibly.
Draught sensitivity
Young stock where air movement at animal height matters more than the building average.
Proving distribution
Measuring what the system actually delivers across a building rather than at the controller.
Environmental evidence
A conditions record supporting how the environment was managed across a batch.
UKAS-accredited calibration for six measurement parameters
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. It provides calibration across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
For a livestock site carrying anemometers, thermal probes, thermometers, temperature and humidity probes, pressure instruments and data loggers, one accredited laboratory keeps everything on a single traceable schedule.
Gas meters · Mass flow controllers · Dispensing systems
Anemometers · Pitot tubes · Thermal probes
Flow meters and sensors · Process control equipment
Gauges · Transducers · Manometers · Transmitters
Thermometers · Probes · Thermocouples · Data loggers
Hygrometers · Probes · Transmitters
Getting conditions into the ventilation controller
Livestock ventilation is run by a controller and reviewed in farm software, so the measurement has to reach a control system and a record.
Gill supports environmental monitoring, industrial sensing, embedded electronics and systems integration, so producers, ventilation suppliers and building manufacturers can bring measurement into existing control architecture.
Whether the requirement is Modbus into a ventilation controller, analogue into an existing input, Pt100 probes into a station, or a serial string into farm software, Gill engineers can support integration from specification through commissioning.
Outputs and options
- Modbus RTU : Site systems and SCADA
- SDI-12 & serial : Loggers and remote telemetry
- 4-20 mA & 0-10 V : Existing analogue channels
- Traceable calibration : So the record holds up on review
What the specification looks like in practice
Humidity is not a secondary parameter
The same temperature is a different thermal environment at different humidity, which is what the animal actually experiences.
Distribution rather than average
Three-axis measurement resolves direction and the vertical component, so draughts and dead zones are visible instead of averaged out.
The external reference drives the control
Ventilation acts on outside conditions, so a sheltered reference produces a wrong internal environment all season.
Nothing to foul with dust or feed
Ultrasonic measurement has no rotating element, on a site that coats everything in particulate.
Existing probes carried in
Analogue and Pt100 inputs bring temperature and humidity probes across a building into the same station.
Evidence batch by batch
Independent UKAS-accredited calibration across six parameters, for equipment from any manufacturer.
Questions about livestock housing
Because air movement distributes the environment through the building. A house can hold an acceptable average temperature while containing a draught at one end and a dead zone at the other, and stock respond to where they are standing.
Because ventilation control acts on outside conditions. A reference sited in shelter tells the control system the wrong thing consistently, which produces a wrong internal environment without any fault appearing.
MetConnect accepts third-party, analogue and Pt100 inputs, so probes already installed across a building can feed the same station rather than a separate system.
WindUltra is compact and sealed, which suits internal positions and wash-down. WindMaster provides three-axis measurement where air distribution is the question being investigated.
Ultrasonic sensors have no rotating element to foul with dust or feed particles, and WindUltra is rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K, which suits buildings that are pressure washed between batches.
Yes. Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited calibration laboratory, Lab 0625, operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer across gas and air flow, air velocity, liquid flow, pressure, temperature and humidity.
Speak to our team
Tell us what you need to measure, where and under what conditions. We’ll help you work out the appropriate approach.
We aim to respond in one working day.