SEMTECH CORPORATION

LoRa Devices
SMART AGRICUTURE REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS

semtech.com/LoRa
LoRa Devices
®

AGRICULTURE USE CASE COLLECTION

Dear IoT Innovators,

Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of freshwater today, using Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol represents a
up to 70 percent of the available supply*. Additionally, the world’s leading choice for LPWAN-based IoT solutions, with more than 100
population is predicted to increase 30 percent by 2050, and food million end nodes deployed in over 140 countries today. LoRa devices
production will need to increase up to 70 percent as a result*. Farmers have been integrated into leading solutions for a number of important
and ranchers are preparing for the future, and tackling tomorrow’s vertical markets, including smart agriculture. With hundreds of
challenges head-on by integrating advanced smart agriculture known use cases (and growing) deployed on every inhabited continent
solutions leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) applications. and orbiting the globe via satellite, applications built on LoRa-based
devices and LoRaWAN networks are proven, simple to use and quick
The IoT paves the way for more productive and efficient operations, to deploy.
with over 75 million agricultural IoT devices predicted to be
distributed by 2020, according to Business Insider Intelligence*. As a Smart agriculture represents a major vertical market for LoRa devices
result, by 2050 the average farm will produce 4.1 million data points, due to the technology’s unique advantages for battery-powered
and by 2024 there will be two million connected farms and 30 million sensors. Leading companies across the Americas, Europe and Asia are
connected cows*. IoT-based solutions in the agricultural space offer taking advantage of the technology to create innovative applications
the potential to monitor data for a range of applications, from cattle that solve today’s challenges. From measuring the environmental
health to water consumption in crop fields. conditions influencing crop production to tracking livestock
health indicators, LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol create
According to IoT Analytics, it is predicted that low-power wide-area efficiencies reducing environmental impact, maximizing yield and
networks (LPWANs) will be the fastest growing IoT connectivity minimizing expenses.
technology in the next five years. The number of LPWAN connections
is forecasted to grow 109 percent per year and should exceed the one Regards,
billion mark in 2023**.
Alistair Fulton
Alistair Fulton
Vice President and General Manager
Semtech Wireless and Sensing Products Group
semtech.com/LoRa

*Enterprise IoT Insights – May 2019. ** IoT Analytics – October 2018. Information is not an endorsement of Semtech Corporation.
Any reliance on these results is at the third party's own risk.

2 Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa
FEATURED APPLICATIONS PAGE
Improving Crop Yield - WaterBit 4

Efficient Crop Irrigation - Sensoterra 5

Indoor Agriculture - City of Calgary 6

Cattle Health Monitoring - itk 7

WaterBit City of Calgary

WaterBit is a precision agriculture irrigation company Canada’s third-largest city, Calgary has evolved over the
that believes in helping growers be good stewards of past two decades into one of the most innovative cities
the land through smart agriculture. The Company’s in the country. The City built one of the first municipally
Automated Irrigation Solution (AIS) lets growers measure owned LoRaWAN® networks in North America, which
soil moisture and apply irrigation remotely, at a level of has fostered the growth of local IoT development and
granularity and accuracy that would otherwise not be innovative use cases.
possible. WaterBit translates technology into tangible value calgary.ca
for growers by improving yields and crop consistency, and
optimizing water and labor.
waterbit.com itk
itk, Intelligence Technology Knowledge, aims to help farmers
optimize the yield and quality of their crops and reduce
Sensoterra risks on their farms through better management of inputs
Sensoterra develops wireless soil and water optimization (irrigation, fertilizers, and plant protection products). In
solutions, to help growers effectively irrigate plants and 2016, itk acquired Medria and expanded its expertise to the
crops. Solutions operate on LoRa-based infrastructure and animal husbandry industry.
meet the most demanding customer specifications at the itk.fr/en
lowest possible total cost of ownership.
sensoterra.com

Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa 3
IMPROVING CROP YIELD

REAL USE CASE SOLUTION

WaterBit is a precision irrigation company committed to providing cost-effective tools that help farmers improve yield, optimize water
usage and be good stewards of the land. WaterBit’s Automated Irrigation Solution (AIS), leveraging Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the
LoRaWAN® protocol, is a complete irrigation planning and control solution. It enables microblock-level monitoring and control of
local irrigation, and considers soil conditions, plant stage and weather at a level of granularity and accuracy not previously possible.
Devine Organics, an organic agriculture business with operations in California and Mexico, first installed WaterBit’s solutions on
40 acres of asparagus in December 2017. In their first season of use, they achieved a five percent reduction in gas emissions from
pumping water and vehicle use, and a six percent reduction in water use. Their 750,000 gallons in water savings is equivalent to
43,000 Americans skipping a shower. The farm also nearly doubled its crop yield from 800 to 1,500 pounds per acre.

LOW OPERATING COST

LoRa-enabled solutions offer minimal downtime and reduced maintenance “WaterBit’s soil probes tell us
cost due to the system’s low power operation. Data collection is completed exactly where the crops need
remotely, reducing labor costs and associated time for the farmer. more or less water, all from the
WaterBit dashboard app. It helps
HIGH CAPACITY us monitor the soil and control
Each LoRa-equipped gateway can handle millions of messages per day. This the valves in the field, allowing
allows WaterBit’s applications to support large growing areas with up to 1,000 us to apply the right amount
sensors in a six-mile radius. Solutions are scalable by number of gateway and of water at the right time and
deploy simply and easily to cover even the largest grow operations. place.”

SECURITY Jose Garcia

Farm Manager, Devine Organics
LoRa devices secure all communications using end-to-end AES128
encryption, making WaterBit’s crop data and management software highly
resistant to attacks.

2x 750,000
Gallons of water saved,
5%
Farms nearly double Reduction in
crop yield with equivalent to 43,000 gas emissions
smarter management showers

4 Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa
EFFICIENT CROP IRRIGATION

REAL USE CASE SOLUTION

Sensoterra provides low-cost, wireless and remote systems that offer farmers detailed insight into the soil moisture levels in their
fields. Soil is not homogenous, and holds moisture differently in various areas and depths. The company utilizes Semtech’s LoRa®
devices in its probes, and a LoRaWAN® network infrastructure provided by Senet, a leading provider of global connectivity and IoT
network service provider, to collect detailed irrigation data for analysis. To date, Sensoterra has deployed over 5,000 LoRa-based
sensors and achieved over 60 million data points in more than 30 countries worldwide. In a recent deployment, an Idaho potato
grower leveraged Sensoterra solutions to reduce water consumption up to 30 percent.

SIMPLE INSTALLATION
A key feature of Sensoterra’s soil moisture system, LoRa-enabled multi-depth probes “As water becomes increasingly
install in a matter of minutes without external wiring or additional infrastructure. scarce in many parts of the world,
Sensoterra’s LoRa-based solutions
WIRELESS INTERACTION allow farmers to manage their
Within an hour after installation, data is viewable online with a downloadable irrigation systems more efficiently.”
application. Accessible on a laptop, tablet or mobile phone, the app offers users
the ability to manage their installations through an easy to use dashboard and Jurriaan Ruys
an open API for data integration. Chairman & Founder, Sensoterra

INTELLIGENT MANAGEMENT
Optimized irrigation scheduling and farm management reduces water use
while creating healthier crops and increased yields. Due to increased yield,
decreased field inputs and improved soil health, growers implementing
Sensoterra's solutions typically see ROI in less than one growth season,
no matter the crop.

30% 5,000+ 60 million+

Sensors reduced Sensors deployed Data points received for
farm water use to date precision irrigation
up to 30 percent

Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa 5
INDOOR AGRICULTURE

REAL USE CASE SOLUTION

The Devonian Gardens is a three-acre exotic horticultural refuge on the top floor of The CORE Shopping Centre in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. The horticultural team at Devonian Gardens noticed some trees were exhibiting signs of light stress and other stressors.
Devonian Gardens installed sensors built on Semtech’s LoRa® devices throughout the gardens as part of a system to monitor various
factors affecting plant health. Using the sensors to capture lighting data from different positions, specialists are able to quantify light
spatially in the garden. A spatial representation provides insight for future species selection and placement, maintenance, and in future
lifecycles of lighting for optimal plant health. Temperature, humidity and barometric pressure sensors measure conditions accurately
and in real time, and characterize this data for the horticultural team to further help plants thrive.

CONSISTENT DATA COMMUNICATION LOW POWER

With LoRa-enabled photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) sensors readings In addition to the superior range and reliability of data
from different positions throughout the gardens, specialists are able to leverage transmission, LoRa devices feature extensive power-
sensor data to quantify light spatially in the garden. A spatial representation saving features that make it possible for a wireless
helps in future species selection and placement, maintenance, lifecycle of lights sensor to last up to 10 years on a single battery. As a
for optimal plant health. result, costly maintenance and replacement costs are
effectively reduced or eliminated.
STANDARDS-BASED RELIABILITY
The LoRaWAN® networking protocol is designed to wirelessly connect sensors
“Now we have an opportunity to
to the Cloud in regional, national or global networks. The specification
manage these precious gardens
provides seamless interoperability between devices in any deployment -
with science. We are understanding
anywhere. Many LoRa-based devices are LoRaWAN CertifiedCM by the LoRa
various light models and fitting
Alliance®. Certification further ensures devices meet strenuous requirements
them with the right species.”
on quality, security, reliability, and safe operation.

Nan Xie
IT Senior Engineer, the City of Calgary

HOW IT WORKS

Sensors measure conditions accurately and in real time, and characterize this data for the horticultural team to further help plants thrive.

6 Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa
CATTLE HEALTH MONITORING

REAL USE CASE SOLUTION

itk, a leading French supplier of IoT-based smart agriculture applications, developed a cattle health monitoring solution leveraging LoRa®
devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol. The product, FarmLife®, is a smart agriculture service, and its LoRa-enabled sensors drive improved
nutrition, predict the onset of disease and detect estrus and calving to help ranchers better monitor their herd. Unlike other solutions,
the sensors deploy simply through a collar equipped to each animal. The collar is non-invasive and immediately begins reporting data
on the cow’s health. Services are available through itk’s FarmLife Cloud platform. In total, deploying itk’s solution costs less than 30€
per animal annually. In addition to the 300,000 cows already monitored in Europe, approximately 20 ranches have deployed itk’s
platform in North America. Following this initial deployment, ranchers claimed they received an ROI in less than a year through an
increase in ranch productivity and efficiency.

EASE OF DEPLOYMENT
LoRa devices deploy quickly and simply with minimal additional infrastructure. “LoRa devices’ flexibility in
itk’s FarmLife solution deploys onto the cow itself, and transmits data deployment makes a key difference
consistently for years at a time without needing costly, frequent maintenance. for connecting animals and offers
the potential for a significant
EXTENSIVE COVERAGE ROI. Our unique solution provides
A single LoRa-based gateway provides miles of network coverage. This enables ranchers with tangible, actionable
consistent connectivity for the largest ranches, and real-time data on cow data on the health of their herd
wellbeing and location on the property. to remove variables from ranching
and create productive, efficient
COST-EFFICIENT and profitable ranches.”
Leveraging up-to-the-minute data on cattle health, ranchers detect changes
in a cow’s vitals, such as body temperature, to predict the onset of disease, Eric Jallas
estrus and other biological phenomena. The LoRa-based solutions drastically CEO at itk
improve quality of life for the cattle, resulting in higher quality milk and meat,
greater earnings for the rancher, and a quick ROI.

30€ 300,000+ <1 Year

itk’s solution costs More than 300,000 Ranchers typically
less than 30€ per cows connected and see a ROI in less
animal annually increasing worldwide than one year

Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture semtech.com/LoRa 7
A leading global
ecosystem for the
Internet of Things…
LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol
are supported by a diverse group of over 500
manufacturers, software designers, network
providers, and industry associations.
Visit the Semtech website today to explore the LoRa-based products
catalog and learn more about the innovative sensor, gateway,
network, and software solutions offered by the ecosystem.
semtech.com/LoRa/ecosystem

Semtech Corporation - LoRa Devices Real World Solutions - Smart Agriculture

Semtech and LoRa are registered trademarks of Semetch Corporation. All other trade names may be marks
and names of their respective companies. © 2019 Semtech Corporation. All rights reserved.
UCB-SEMTECH-LoRa-SMART-AGRICULTURE-2019