SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, is urging forward thinking farmers to sign up to trial the latest innovations and technologies in agriculture.
Mr Rowlands, a keen supporter of farming and the agricultural industry, wants farmers to put their names forward to trial the new network which is being launched in North Wales this Summer.
He said: “I am always happy to support any new projects or schemes which ultimately help farmers to run their farms more efficiently.
“I am delighted to see these trials, which are being funded by the UK Prosperity Fund and delivered by Mentera on behalf of Ambition North Wales, to be run in my region.
“It really is good to see more technology becoming available for the agricultural sector and a great opportunity for our hard working farmers in North Wales.”
Mentera will be delivering the new Smart Agriculture IoT trials and is now looking for 16 farms across North Wales to join the new network.
The farms selected to be part of the network will get the chance to run fully-funded on-farm trials in areas of farming that they are interested in, focusing on LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) technology.
Being involved in the network and trials will help farmers in North Wales to harness the power of the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of their farms.
The focus on innovation and LoRaWAN technologies will support the roll out of practical technology solutions to monitor and manage various aspects of a farm’s day to day operations. This, in turn, will help the farmers selected for the network, to reach their business goals.
Mentera are seeking applications from keen, ambitious and forward-thinking farmers in North Wales who want to develop their businesses and use of technology.
The farms will benefit from significant project support and guidance from a fully-funded Agri-Tech industry specialist to implement and evaluate technology solutions that address specific challenges on their farms.
Head of Technical at Mentera, Siwan Howaston 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.”
Farms are being recruited from the dairy, red meat, pigs, poultry, arable and horticulture sectors from across the areas of Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey.
nikThe on-farm trials will run from September to February 1, 2026. Applications for an expression of interest can be submitted from Wednesday, July 30, until mid-night on Wednesday, August 27, on Mentera’s website.
