Smart Farming in the Soest District: IoT Sensors for Agriculture and Environmental Monitoring

Smart farming project in the Soest district? We advise on soil moisture monitoring, weather stations and barn sensors. IoT solutions Soest · Contact

The Soester Boerde is one of Germany's most fertile arable farming regions. On the rich loess soils between Soest, Werl and Bad Sassendorf, farms are increasingly relying on data-driven decisions. Climate change makes irrigation a concern, rising input costs require precision, and documentation requirements are increasing.

IoT sensors with LoRaWAN deliver exactly the data needed for sound decisions - over distances of 10-15 km, battery-powered and without cellular costs.

The Soest District: Agriculture and Commerce

The Soest district is one of the most productive agricultural districts in North Rhine-Westphalia. The structures are diverse - and each has its own IoT requirements:

• Soester Boerde (Core Area): Large farms with 100-500 hectares of arable land on fertile loess soils. Wheat, barley, sugar beets, rapeseed. Soil moisture monitoring is the biggest lever here - precise irrigation saves water and increases yields.
• Haarstrang / Moehne Valley: Hillier than the Boerde, more grassland and livestock farming. Dairy farms with pasture grazing - GPS tracking and barn climate monitoring are the top applications.
• Soest Commercial Areas (Lange Wende, Suedfeld): Processing companies that work with regional agricultural products - meat, baked goods, beverages. Cold chain monitoring and energy monitoring in production.
• Water Supply and Reservoirs: The Soest district has important water resources with the Moehnesee reservoir and the Haarstrang springs. Water levels, water quality and pump monitoring are classic IoT applications.
• Soest Old Town: Gastronomy and food retail around the historic market square. Cold room monitoring and energy management for businesses.

Why the Soester Boerde Is Ideal for LoRaWAN

The flat topography of the Soester Boerde is perfect for LoRaWAN: without mountains and high-rises, radio signals reach ranges of over 15 km. A single gateway on a silo, barn roof or church tower covers an entire farm and its surrounding fields.

Additionally, LoRaWAN operates on the license-free 868 MHz frequency. There are no cellular costs per sensor - a sensor transmits for 5-10 years on a single battery.

Use Cases for Agriculture

Soil Moisture Monitoring

Soil moisture sensors at various depths (10cm, 30cm, 60cm) measure water content in the soil. The data helps with decisions: Do I need to irrigate? How much? In which zone? In ThingsBoard you can see the soil moisture map of your fields in real time.

Weather Stations

LoRaWAN weather stations on the farm measure wind, precipitation, air temperature, humidity and solar radiation. This hyper-current data is more accurate than weather forecasts and helps plan spraying, harvesting and tillage windows.

Barn Climate and Livestock Monitoring

Temperature, humidity, ammonia and CO2 in barns - critical parameters for animal welfare and productivity. Sensors continuously monitor the barn climate, with immediate alerts on threshold violations. GPS trackers on pastures show herd positions.

Silos and Storage

Ultrasonic sensors measure fill levels in feed, grain and fertilizer silos. Data flows into Grafana dashboards and can trigger automatic reorders before a silo runs empty.

Frost Warning

Temperature sensors in frost-prone areas (orchards, greenhouses) alert when temperatures drop below critical levels. Via Node-RED, frost protection measures can be automatically initiated.

The IoT Stack for Farmers

• Milesight: Outdoor gateways and rugged sensors (IP67)
• ChirpStack: LoRaWAN network for the farm
• ThingsBoard: Map dashboards with sensor positions and readings
• Grafana: Long-term trends and comparisons across seasons
• Node-RED: Automations and alerting

GDPR-compliant hosting via merkaio Managed Hosting.

Case Study: Arable Farm in the Soester Boerde

Situation: An arable farm with 280 hectares between Soest and Bad Sassendorf. Main crops: winter wheat, sugar beets and rapeseed. Due to climate change, rainfall has become more irregular - in the last 3 years, there were 4-6 week dry periods each summer. The farm invested in an irrigation system, but without data, irrigation was done by feel.

IoT Solution:

• 1x Milesight UG67 Gateway on the grain silo (12m height) - covers the entire farm
• 8x Soil moisture sensors at 3 depths (10/30/60 cm) across 4 fields
• 1x LoRaWAN weather station on the farmyard
• 3x Fill level sensors on grain and fertilizer silos
• Managed hosting with ThingsBoard map display

Results after one growing season:

• 30% less irrigation water: Instead of irrigating by feel, soil moisture data showed: Field 2 (loamy soil) retained moisture significantly longer than Field 4 (sandy soil). Irrigation was adjusted per field - 30% less water with the same yields.
• Frost warning in spring: Temperature sensor on Field 1 reported a ground temperature of -0.5 degrees C on April 15th at 4:30 AM. SMS alarm triggered, frost protection irrigation started - sugar beet seedlings saved.
• Silo planning optimized: Fill level data showed exactly when feed and fertilizer silos needed refilling. No more emergency orders, better prices through plannable purchases.
• Data for grant applications: Seamless documentation of soil moisture and irrigation serves as evidence for water extraction permits and agri-environmental measures.

Special Regional Aspects

Sugar Beets and the Pfeifer & Langen Factory

The Soest district is core sugar beet territory - the proximity to the Warburg sugar factory makes the crop attractive. Soil moisture monitoring is particularly critical for sugar beets: too little water reduces sugar content, too much promotes rot. IoT data helps find the sweet spot.

Livestock Farming at the Haarstrang

Dairy farms at the Haarstrang are increasingly adopting pasture grazing - also due to consumer expectations. GPS trackers on cattle combined with temperature sensors in barns provide a complete picture: Where is the herd? What is the barn climate like? When do the animals need to come in?

Water Scarcity and Irrigation

The dry periods of recent years have shifted irrigation in the Boerde from "nice to have" to "existential." Soil moisture data is the foundation for efficient irrigation - and for proving to water authorities that no more than necessary is being extracted.

Next Steps

Do you farm in the Soest district and want to know how IoT can support your operation? We will visit your farm and discuss the possibilities.

• IoT solutions in Soest - All services
• IoT solutions in Werl - Neighboring location
• IoT solutions in Bad Sassendorf - Neighboring location
• IoT solutions in Arnsberg - Neighboring location
• All IoT locations - Overview