US (FL): Plant City farm uses technology to protect crops
But on a Plant City farm off Highway 60, they are mixing-in a little bit of technology.
"It gives you date, time and the temperature for each location," said John McDowell, CEO of Comptek, Inc. You might think an iPad or a smartphone is out of place in a strawberry field but John McDowell says they've become invaluable tools on nights when the mercury's mean and a hard freeze sets in.
"They can sit in the comfort of their home, or in their vehicles on a smartphone or a tablet, and look at the weather for all of their farms, without having to drive there," he said. Bob McDowell is a farmer. His sister is too. But their brother, John, is a computer guy. "I'm the black sheep of the family," John McDowell said laughing. His website shows real-time temperatures on his siblings' farms, collecting readings from static weather stations.
"We have a wire that comes out of the bottom," said Bob McDowell, showing us a weather station screwed to the wall inside a pumping house. The weather station is no bigger than a wallet and has an antenna on the top. It works through a cell signal just like your phone. When the temperature drops to a threshold, the website sends out an alert. "It'll send him a text message letting him know, hey, the weather is down to 35-degrees," said John McDowell. That's just enough warning for his brother to turn on the sprinklers.
Source: abcactionnews.com