AgriConn Transformed Precision Agriculture with RAK11720 and LoRaWAN®

AgriConn Transformed Precision Agriculture with RAK11720 and LoRaWAN®

Quick Look: Use Case Summary
Supporting Themes LoRaWAN Education
Industry Agriculture
Sub-Industry Precision Irrigation and Smart Farming
Deployment Area Remote Agricultural Zones
IoT Stack Used RAK11720 Modules, LoRaWAN Network

Highlight Summary

  • AgriConn builds smart irrigation systems for precision agriculture and smart farming.
  • Their earlier Zigbee-based network struggled with range, signal stability, and installation complexity on real farms.
  • The company decided to switch to LoRaWAN and the RAK11720 module for stronger long-range connectivity.
  • The new setup made it easier to support LoRaWAN sensors across large, remote, and irregular farm areas.
  • RAK11720 gave AgriConn the flexibility, memory, and radio frequency (RF) support needed for a more reliable smart irrigation system.
  • The result was a stable and scalable network that improved irrigation monitoring, farm automation, and field data reliability.

Company Profile

AgriConn is a global leader in precision agriculture solutions. With years of experience and offices in California, the United States, and Australia, AgriConn supports farmers worldwide with advanced tools to monitor soil moisture, weather conditions, and irrigation data. Their platform helps growers make better decisions to save water, improve crop yields, and run more efficient operations. This makes AgriConn’s platform a strong fit for smart farming environments where every field decision depends on timely data.
Their typical setup includes a network of sensors, data loggers, and controllers that send real-time information back to a central platform for continuous irrigation monitoring across large farms. These devices are often installed in large fields, orchards, and farms where connectivity can be a serious challenge. AgriConn’s goal has always been to streamline this process, even in areas where network signals are unstable.
However, as the scale of their deployments grew and the demand for higher accuracy increased, they faced a growing problem, especially regarding signal strength and network flexibility.

Problem

Many agricultural technology providers still have to face network limitations that stop them from reaching every field, every time. Also, not all technology fits every landscape. Weak signals, high power consumption, and limited range often make it hard to collect accurate data from remote or scattered areas. When farmers can’t reliably connect important tools like pump controllers or soil sensors, water use becomes inefficient. As a result, crops suffer, and costs go up, especially when soil moisture sensor data is delayed or incomplete.

The Challenge of Zigbee Limitations

AgriConn had been using Zigbee technology for its sensor networks. In the beginning, it worked well enough. Zigbee offered low power use and was easy to set up in small areas. However, over time, it became clear that this solution could not keep up.
The system used a “mesh network,” which means each device had to send data through other nearby devices to reach the main hub. On paper, this sounds fine, but it doesn’t work so well on real farms.
Here’s why:
  • Real farms have big obstructions like hills, trees, houses, and even large rocks.
  • Obstructions block signals and need more repeaters and routers to cover large distances.
  • Poor signal penetration also occurs when connecting to large equipment like pumps.
  • If one device goes down, the whole data path can stop working in a mesh network.
  • The system uses more battery since devices have to stay awake to pass messages.
  • The system creates additional costs and maintenance headaches for teams working in the field.
These challenges, in turn, bring in more related issues. Workers had to constantly reposition devices just to get a reliable connection. During peak farming seasons, even a short delay in data could cause over-irrigation or skipped watering cycles. These small failures added up and led to wasted water, stressed crops, and frustrated users.
AgriConn needed stable communication, especially in hard-to-reach areas where pump stations are placed. They began looking for a new technology that could go further, last longer, and be easier to install and scale with their growing customer base.

Location

United States

The Solution

The Smart Upgrade to LoRaWAN

To overcome these challenges, AgriConn decided to upgrade its network to LoRa® technology, supported by the RAK11720 module from RAKwireless. This change made a big difference right away. This is because LoRaWAN:
  • Has a better signal penetration
  • Offers a much longer range
  • Consumes less battery
  • Is easier to install
Therefore, it is perfect for large farmlands and equipment placed in remote or obstructed areas. Devices like pump controllers could now stay connected without needing extra relay devices. This also made it easier to support LoRaWAN sensors across wider and more irregular farm areas.
Also, the LoRa-based network used a star topology instead of a mesh. That means each device is connected directly to a gateway and communicates independently with it. There is no need to worry about what’s blocking the signal or which device might stop working next.
Eventually, the new system gave AgriConn a stable and scalable network that could keep up with their growing real-world farming environments and support farm automation across more sites.

Why AgriConn Chose the RAK11720 Module?

Smart ideas only go so far without the right tools to make them happen. To fully realize the benefits, AgriConn required the right IoT hardware for real-world conditions. There are several valuable reasons why AgriConn decided to collaborate with RAKwireless.
  1. Openness & Large Memory
    The RAK11720 module has ample memory. It provided the flexibility and capacity that AgriConn needed for its complex applications.
  2. Integrated Solutions
    The module's integration of Bluetooth and LoRaWAN enabled AgriConn to streamline its setup processes. Customers can also integrate NFC at the device level using an external chip, adding even more flexibility to their setup. This also made the device more user-friendly and efficient during initial setup.
  3. Competitive Pricing
    RAKwireless’ competitive pricing ensured that AgriConn could upgrade and scale its solutions without inflating costs.
  4. Scalability
    The module's compatibility with the RadioShuttle protocol helped AgriConn's system scale easily without any extra complexity. It enables mesh-like behavior, as some industrial zones still need mesh flexibility. This way, AgriConn has a stable, long-range network in open fields while also providing a reliable fallback option where direct connections aren’t possible.
  5. RUI3 Compatibility
    AgriConn used RUI3 to program its custom firmware directly into the RAK11720 module. They could now design features that matched their exact use case, instead of working with limited preset functions.
  6. RAKwireless’ Antenna Design Support
    This helped AgriConn choose the right antenna type, placement, and configuration. As a result, the devices received much better RF performance, and signals could also travel farther with better strength.
AgriConn gained more than a connectivity component with the RAK11720 module. They gained the flexibility, memory, protocol support, and RF guidance for their smart irrigation system.

The Outcome

Today, AgriConn shows how powerful innovation can be in farming. They have already set up more than 17,000 nodes across over 500,000 acres. Their system now connects to thousands of pumps, valves, tanks, and sensors, and this is just the start of their success story.
Together, RAKwireless and AgriConn made precision farming more powerful and more practical. Farmers could trust their data again while tracking soil moisture, weather, and irrigation activity in real time to make better decisions for their crops.

~That’s not just a win for technology; it’s a win for farming.

Getting Started
Transform Your Irrigation Connectivity Network.
Get in touch today to build a powerful LoRaWAN-based system for a smart agriculture setup. RAKwireless will help you manage it all with ease and precision.
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