The io-key developed by ifm efector is an easy-to-use solution to help farmers view and monitor all farm resources from their phone
ifm efector’s io-key is described by the company as “like an assistant or a mate” for farmers wanting to spend less time on logistics.
In simple terms, the io-key provides remote monitoring of farm information such as irrigation lines, silo capacity or dam levels and does not require advanced connections or installation.
“The reason we feel it’s very good for the farming industry is because you don’t need IT knowledge,” ifm business manager Freddie Coertze says.
“It’s very easy, you don’t need to know what’s happening inside the product.
“All you need to do is just plug in whatever you want to monitor and look it up, and everything just automatically works.”
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The io-key is designed to reduce a farmer’s time spent on logistics
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The io-key can provide farmers with data that can be accessed remotely, with alerts sent via SMS if an item requires attention.
Coertze says one customer using a similar ifm product has been remotely monitoring a filter that would otherwise require driving at least an hour for manual checking.
This customer is using ifm’s monitoring products for irrigation lines, Coertze says, which enables them to look after the health of their pumps.
For small to medium farmers, the io-key means they can have constant monitoring of pump health – reducing the chance of a costly breakdown.
“We’ll put a basic condition monitoring sensor on the pump, so then we know when the pump needs servicing,” Coertze says.
“Normally they do routine maintenance on these pumps, maybe checking the pump every six months or so.
“But what happens in that six-month period is they have no monitoring, so at least we can have some data in the Cloud that can say if the pump is
The ifm efector io-key allows for straightforward monitoring of remote assets, such as dams or silos degrading and send someone out to fix it before it ultimately breaks down.”
Another agricultural use for the io-key is in liquid fertigation, where sensors placed in the middle and at each end of the line can allow farmers to check whether the fertiliser has run the entire way through as planned.
“That’s one area we can see this product being really successful, because you don’t need infrastructure in place,” Coertze says.
“There are no cabinets, there are no Ethernet plugs – just stick it out there, get 24 volts to it and off you go.
“It’s basically just plug it in and everything works, plus it’s a small unit. It’s IP67, so you can put it outside, with a bit of a cover from the sun, but it can get a splash of water and rain.
“The farmer can also just buy more monitoring points, and I think farmers should see this as like ‘a grow as you know’ because they may select one point and move it around.
“If he wants to monitor more things, he just orders another one and plugs it in, sort of like home automation – you just buy them all and hook them up to the same network.”
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The ifm efector io-key allows for straightforward monitoring of remote assets, such as dams or silos
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Another example of its use on farms is in grain silo management.
An io-key will warn a farmer when the silo level drops below a certain point, Coertze says, which he believes will particularly benefit small to medium farmers who may have no other automation.
The same principle can also be applied to other farm measurements such as diesel tank levels, fertiliser tanks or even dam levels, the latter of which can often involve travelling several kilometres to check manually.
It can also be used in farm-to-gate management, Coertze says, citing an example where it could be placed inside a milk vat or delivery truck to ensure milk is being both stored and transported at the optimal temperature.
While the io-key is designed for simplicity and with no technological knowledge required for its use, it can also be used in more advanced ways.
It has two outputs, which means it can be programmed to turn on a pump if the water level is not ideal, for example, or to turn on a fan to prevent overheating of an item.
Ifm’s national technical sales manager Dan Buzatu says the io-key is ultimately intended to make time-consuming farm tasks simpler.
“This device is also there to increase efficiency on farm,” he says.
“Some of these benefits may sound minor, but a farmer is a busy man who often starts out at 4am.
“The less time he needs to spend on logistics the better, and that’s what this unit can assist with.”