The spray window opens on a wind speed.
The record has to prove it.
Compact ultrasonic wind measurement for spray decisions, mounted on the sprayer or at the field boundary, so the decision and the record it creates come from the field rather than from a forecast.
The decision is made at the field and defended later
Whether an application can go ahead is a wind speed and direction question, answered at the field gate, often against a weather window that has been closing all morning.
The same decision is then written into a record that is read much later by somebody who was not there. Assurance schemes, product stewardship requirements and neighbour complaints all reach back into that record, and a forecast figure is a weaker answer than a measurement.
Drift is the reason. Wind speed decides whether the spray reaches the target, and direction decides who else it reaches, which turns a routine operation into a boundary dispute if the conditions were misjudged.
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
Measured at the field, not at the nearest station
Wind at a field boundary is not the same as wind at a regional station, and the difference is largest exactly when it matters. Shelter from hedges, buildings and topography changes both speed and direction across a single holding.
Mounting on the sprayer puts the measurement at the operation rather than near it, and it travels between fields without anything being moved. Mounting at a boundary puts it at the sensitive edge, which is usually where a complaint originates.
Direction carries as much weight as speed. An application at the same wind speed is a different proposition depending on whether the sensitive boundary is upwind or downwind, and the record needs both.
Whichever position is chosen, the instrument spends its life in dust, spray and wash-down, so anything with a rotating element becomes a cleaning task before it becomes a measurement problem.
The measurement travels with the operation
A sprayer moves between fields and between holdings, and a fixed mast measures one of them. Mounting the sensor on the machine means the reading describes the field being treated rather than the field the mast is in.
Ultrasonic measurement suits the position because there is nothing to clean or to seize. GMX200 provides wind-only measurement at 0.5 kg, and WindSonic measures 0 to 60 or 0 to 75 m/s and publishes its accuracy across the full measuring range.
The reading from the field being treated
View WindSonicWhere the complaint comes from
A sensitive boundary is a fixed location, and a fixed measurement there answers the question a complaint asks: what was the wind doing at this edge at this time.
A compact station at the boundary also carries the rest of the record. MaxiMet brings wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall into one unit on one cable, which covers the application conditions and the wider agronomic record together.
One unit, the whole condition record
View MaxiMetAn application record is an audited document
Assurance schemes and product stewardship both require application records, and those records are inspected. A conditions entry taken from a forecast is weaker than one taken from an instrument, and weaker still if the instrument cannot be identified.
Traceable calibration is what closes that. An instrument on an interval turns the conditions entry into evidence rather than an estimate, which matters most in the cases where it is challenged.
Labcal is an independent UKAS-accredited laboratory operating to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, calibrating equipment from any manufacturer, which suits a holding with instruments bought at different times.
What a spray operation measures
Wind measurement on the machine and at the boundary, with the wider agronomic record from the same installation.
Wind measurement
WindSonic
Lightweight 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
Lightweight ultrasonic measurement for sprayer booms, cab mounts and field masts, with nothing to clean or seize.
WindUltra
Compact 2-axis ultrasonic anemometer
A compact 2-axis anemometer for vehicle and mobile mounting, sealed and rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K for wash-down.
WindObserver
Heated 316 stainless open-head 2-axis anemometer
Heated 316 stainless where a boundary mast has to keep reporting through every season on an exposed holding.
Conditions and record
MaxiMet
All-in-one weather station, no moving parts
Wind, temperature, humidity, pressure, solar radiation and rainfall from one unit on one cable at the boundary or the yard.
TruMet PW100
Infrared optical rain gauge
Optical rainfall measurement with no tipping mechanism to block with dust, chaff or insects.
MetConnect
Separable sensors for WMO-compliant siting
Separable sensors where the holding keeps a reference record at defined heights alongside the operational measurement.
Where spray window measurement does the work
Field applications
Wind speed and direction at the field being treated, recorded against the application.
Watercourses and dwellings
Fixed measurement at the edge that a complaint would be made about.
Multiple holdings
Sprayer-mounted measurement that travels between customers and records each job.
Inspected records
Conditions entries supported by an identifiable, calibrated instrument.
Directed application
Operations where drift behaviour and canopy shelter both change with direction.
Window planning
A conditions record that shows when the window actually existed across a season.
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 holding carrying anemometers, thermal probes, pressure instruments, thermometers, temperature and humidity probes and data loggers, one accredited laboratory keeps instruments bought at different times 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 the reading into the job record
A spray decision is taken in the cab and recorded in a farm management system, so the measurement has to reach both a display and a record rather than one or the other.
Gill supports environmental monitoring, industrial sensing, embedded electronics and systems integration, so machinery manufacturers, dealers and holdings can bring measurement into cab displays, controllers and farm software.
Whether the requirement is CAN into a machine network, a serial string into a display, SDI-12 into a logger, or analogue into an existing channel, Gill engineers can support integration from specification through commissioning.
Outputs and options
- CAN & RS232 : Machine networks and cab displays
- SDI-12 : Field loggers and telemetry
- Modbus RTU : Farm and site systems
- 4-20 mA & 0-10 V : Existing analogue channels
What the specification looks like in practice
Measured at the field, not near it
Wind at a boundary differs from a regional station most when shelter and topography matter, which is exactly when the decision is marginal.
Nothing to clean or seize
Ultrasonic measurement has no rotating element to foul with dust, chaff or spray residue.
Light enough for the machine
GMX200 measures wind at 0.5 kg, which decides whether the sensor goes on the sprayer or stays in the yard.
Direction as well as speed
Whether a sensitive boundary is upwind or downwind changes the decision at the same wind speed.
Sealed for wash-down
WindUltra is rated IP66, IP68 and IP69K, which suits a machine that is pressure washed.
Evidence when the record is inspected
Independent UKAS-accredited calibration across six parameters, for equipment from any manufacturer.
Questions about spray windows and drift
They answer different questions. A sprayer-mounted sensor describes the field being treated and travels between them. A boundary mast describes the sensitive edge that a complaint would concern.
Many holdings end up with both, because the operational decision and the defensive record are not quite the same thing.
Because there is nothing to clean or to seize. A sprayer lives in dust, chaff and spray residue and is pressure washed regularly, and a rotating element becomes a maintenance task before it becomes a measurement problem.
Accurate enough to support the decision and identifiable enough to support the record. WindSonic 60 and 75 have published accuracy across the full measuring range, not just at a single test speed.
Scheme requirements vary, but a conditions entry supported by an identifiable instrument on a traceable calibration interval is considerably stronger than one taken from a forecast.
Generally yes. The sensors provide CAN, serial and analogue outputs, and the engineering team can advise on the interface a particular machine or display expects.
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.
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