Trellis Partners with UGA for Water Conservation Project
TRELLIS COMPLETES WATER CONSERVATION PROJECT
Easy-to-use soil moisture monitoring system helped growers in southern counties
Together with the UGA Extension Office, the metro Atlanta-based AgTech company Trellis completed a 2017 water conservation project with local cotton growers from eleven counties across southwest and southeast Georgia. Trellis supplied and installed three wireless soil moisture stations (66 total) and a cellular base on each of the selected farms (22 total) to help growers make better irrigation decisions during the growing season.
The goal of the project was for growers in Georgia to conserve water while still irrigating efficiently and affordably: Existing soil moisture systems cost thousands of dollars, but Trellis’ cost-effective product made this project possible. The initiative also introduced many growers to soil moisture sensors, a tool many had never used before, and improved the experience for those who had.
“I’ve been working with soil moisture probes for 15 years and Trellis’ are the first ones that I trust,” said Evan Mobley, a grower from Burke County.
Before the sensors were installed, Trellis helped train county agents on the system and how to interpret the soil moisture and temperature data collected by the sensors.
“Since installation, Trellis has configured their dashboard to provide secure access to informative views of the soil moisture data to all the project agents and farmers,” said Calvin Perry, superintendent of UGA’s Stripling Irrigation Research Park in Camilla, GA, and one of the managers of the project. “Trellis has proven to be a solid, responsive, and reliable vendor for providing soil moisture sensing hardware and data visualization dashboard," Perry said.
Last month, Trellis removed the wireless sensor stations and cellular base stations in preparation for harvest, but already growers have seen positive effects as a result of Trellis’ easy-to-use soil moisture monitoring system. “When I’m out of town, I trust what these sensors say,” Mobley said. “I love them - they work great. I know exactly what’s going on & am able to understand it.”
Trellis, Inc. is an AgTech company founded in 2015 and currently operating out of the hardware startup incubator Prototype Prime in Peachtree Corners, GA. Trellis helps growers and consultants save on irrigation costs and improve crop yields with its easy-to-use and cost effective (10x less expensive than comparable products) soil moisture monitoring system.