Virgin Media O2 Business and River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) have announced a new collaboration to trial 5G connectivity at Overbury Farms on the border between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.
By installing a portable 5G private network on the farm, this trial will showcase innovative use cases, demonstrating the power of technology in crop protection and environmental preservation.
Overbury Farms, a 1,600 hectare award-winning estate and the chosen trial site will serve as the testbed for the network, covering a 1-kilometre trial area.
The project is part of government’s initiative to demonstrate the potential of 5G technology across the UK. The River Severn Catchment is one of the 10 5G Innovation Regions chosen by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) to receive £3.75 million in funding; this will be used to demonstrate the benefits of wireless technology for agriculture, water management and the public sector, managed by Shropshire Council.
The network, which will be installed at Overbury Farms this month, will show the benefits advanced connectivity can bring to the agricultural sector. Several 5G-enabled solutions will be used aimed at improving farm efficiency and animal welfare, while reducing the impact on the environment. This includes:
• Outdoor and indoor AI-enabled pest observation: Connecting existing cabbage stem flea beetle camera traps and deploying new aphid and ladybird trained camera traps, allowing the farm to take early action and reduce the amount of pesticides used to control potential infestations.
• IoT water quality checks: Sensors will be installed to remotely identify the level of nitrates in the local stream, which combined with Meteoblue’s weather model can help determine fertiliser application timings to gain optimal soil moisture conditions and monitor what others do to the water courses running through the farm.
• Water level troughs: Monitoring water levels in the livestock and racehorse troughs, saving time from physical observations and ensuring water is always available for the animals.
• Liquid fertiliser levels: The monitors will trigger alerts for any potential leakages from fertiliser tanks to quickly address the leak and help reduce the environmental impact of any such event, as well as reducing checking time for stock control.
• Weather station: Ensuring yield quality by collecting information on soil moisture, wind speed, rain gauge and temperature. Correlated with weather forecasting and disease modelling to increase accuracy and support the farm in daily decision-making.
Penelope Bossom, Overbury Farms’ owner, said, “This exciting collaboration will give us the opportunity to test a variety of sensors collecting data over a private 5G network. The benefits of better information, warnings and the collation of data will provide new opportunities to our sector. Hopefully, we will overcome the constraints of variable connectivity to show the benefits of the network technology for a business in the countryside.”
Overbury is a member of AgritechE, an organisation that brings farming experts together to foster new innovations in the Agritech space. It has also been an AgriEPI (now the UK Agri-Tech Centre) satellite farm.
Andres Cruz Gordon, private networks director at Virgin Media O2 Business, said, “Building on Virgin Media O2 Business’ expertise in deploying Private Networks, this new project with River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region is a great opportunity to demonstrate the possibilities that advanced connectivity can unlock. From AI-enabled insect traps to weather stations powered by sophisticated weather models, the applications tapped into at the farm will increase both safety and efficiency on site. This work will serve as an industry showcase of how 5G can accelerate digital farming plans and benefit the UK economy.”
Last year, Virgin Media 02 Business announced a strategic partnership with Accenture to expand its private 5G network solutions across a range of industries, including agriculture.
Matt Smith, RSPAWIR programme manager, said, “This project brings together a forward thinking, environmentally conscious and tech-curious local farm, an innovative public sector partnership with government support and a high-profile mobile network operator in Virgin Media O2 Business who have an appetite to transform rural connectivity. Our collaboration marks an exciting step forward in demonstrating the practical benefits of 5G technology for rural communities.”