In agriculture, the weather is central to decision-making. The weather is an essential factor in the equation for agricultural productivity and the return on investment for farmers. Weather data is at the heart of itk’s solutions and is the basis for accurate modelling that reflects the reality on the ground.
What weather data does the Vintel service integrate?
Vintel is the vine water management tool developed by itk. The solution’s modelling curves estimate the daily quantity of water flow between the soil, the vines, the inter-row canopies and the atmosphere, throughout the season. The agronomic model relies on meteorological data (temperature, hygrometry, wind speed and solar radiation) to quantify the flows associated with evapotranspiration. The more precise this data is, the more accurate the modelling of water flow will be.
Vintel also makes it possible to measure the replenishment of the useful reserve by rainfall, the quantity of which can vary according to geographical location. It is essential to have very local and precise rainfall data.
As part of our continual search for improvement of these input sources, we have developed interoperability with many weather forecasting providers.
Synchronise weather applications
With Vintel, it’s easy to connect all sources of information in order to stay informed of new weather events. Vintel is now interoperable with about twenty weather forecasting services: Adcon, Agriscope, Agrometrix, Ara, Cap2020, Davis, Decagon, Demeter, DRIAS, ICON, Maxar, Météo France, NASA, Pessl, Sencrop, Siar, The Weather Company, Weenat and Weather Measure.
The partnerships between these suppliers and itk enable seamless service for the users of our solutions.
Weather forecasting: Vintel’s competitive advantage
itk has been using the German ICON open data model for five-day forecasts since 2019. Scientific studies conducted by itk have proven the reliability of this meteorological model, which is integrated in all our solutions (vineyards, cereals, fruit trees, vegetable crops, etc.). This global digital weather prediction model enables us to forecast large-scale weather phenomena (depressions and anticyclones, for example) that cover the entire globe.
itk retrieves essential data required for its agricultural modelling solutions.
The Vintel five-day weather forecast enables efficient vineyard management and anticipates water constraints by acting on the plot environment. Vintel users have thus been able to better manage their vineyards thanks to Vintel, which is now more accurate with weather forecasting.
Testimonials: Sencrop and Weenat, two weather suppliers, comment on the benefits of interoperability between their weather stations and Vintel
Maxime Zahedi, Agricultural Engineer at Weenat
“The interoperability of Weenat sensors with Vintel offers winegrowers a complementary solution to help manage the irrigation of vines. The rain, temperature, humidity and wind data collected by our sensors directly from the plots enable winegrowers to determine an appropriate water route. The quality of the results of a DST (Decision Support Tool) depends directly on the accuracy of the agro-meteorological data entered in the algorithm.
Connecting one or more Weenat sensors to a DST feeds ultra-localised weather data into the forecast model in real time. The recommendations are more reliable, more accurate and better adapted to the conditions of the farmer’s plots.”
Thomas Lemaire, Sales Director at Sencrop
“It’s essential to have weather data from as close as possible to your plot in order to make the best decisions for your farm. DSTs like Vintel use weather data to make their recommendations. These recommendations are more accurate if they’re based on local weather data from a Sencrop station. Sencrop and Vintel have been interoperable since 2017, and to date, more than 140 Sencrop stations are connected to Vintel, primarily in Occitanie, Rhône Alpes and Provence.
Winemakers can connect the two systems with a single click from the Sencrop app. The goal of the interoperability between Sencrop and Vintel is to provide the DST with the right weather data from the Sencrop stations so that the DST can fine-tune its irrigation recommendations for the plot based on the weather conditions at the location of the plot. Winegrowers are thus able to make the best decisions for properly managing their irrigation.“
Agronomist and scientific editor