Farmers invited to take part in North Wales tech trials
The initiative is being funded by taxpayers via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and delivered by Mentera on behalf of Ambition North Wales.
Siwan Howaston, head of technical at Mentera, said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for farmers in North Wales to be at the forefront of agricultural innovation.
"The adoption of technologies like LoRaWAN is crucial for creating more resilient, productive, and sustainable farm businesses.
"We encourage all interested farmers to apply and help us build a more technologically advanced future for agriculture in North Wales."
The scheme aims to help improve efficiency, productivity, and sustainability by integrating IoT-based solutions into daily farm operations.
According to Mentera, LoRaWAN technology could help support remote monitoring and management of livestock, water systems, soil health, and infrastructure.
For example, real-time soil moisture and temperature sensors could guide optimal slurry application, helping to reduce environmental risk and improve compliance with regulations.
The organisation says sensors could detect water tank levels and identify leaks to help prevent loss and infrastructure damage.
The technology is also being touted as a way of support livestock tracking, infrastructure monitoring, and the remote management of gates and machinery.
Farms participating in the trials will receive technical support from an agri-tech specialist to implement and assess the solutions.
The programme is open to farms in the dairy, red meat, pig, poultry, arable, and horticulture sectors across Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Anglesey, and Wrexham.
Cllr Nia Jeffreys, lead member for Ambition North Wales's Digital Connectivity Programme and leader of Cyngor Gwynedd, said: "The transformative potential of this project is significant for the farmers involved.
"All equipment is provided and installed, with the option to continue with use if they find the trial to be beneficial – so there could be much to gain."
Trials are scheduled to begin in September and continue through to February 1, 2026.
Mentera is now looking for 16 farms across north Wales to join the new network.
Applicants have until midnight on August 27 to submit their interest via Mentera's website at mentera.cymru/smart-agriculture-trials/.
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