More than 600 Australian Bureau of Meteorology weather stations have recently been connected to HortPlus’ network, setting the scene for an expansion of the company’s services to Australian growers and horticulture organisations.

The addition of the Australian stations brings the total number of connected weather stations across HortPlus’ network to more than 1,100, including a multitude of MetService stations in New Zealand and well over 100 privately owned stations on orchards across the country.

“This is a big step towards providing more of our plant pest and disease risk models and weather-related decision-support services to the Australian market,” says HortPlus director Mike Barley.

“In future, access to the Australian weather stations may also benefit the thousands of New Zealand growers and researchers using our MetWatch portal by making it possible to make comparisons and compare trends across both sides of the Tasman.”

Australian horticultural industry associations, packhouses, and any other primary industry organisations that want to access to weather data and crop-specific pest and disease risk models are encouraged to contact HortPlus to discuss options.

About HortPlus

HortPlus is a New Zealand-based agricultural technology company that has been delivering digital solutions to the primary sector for more than 25 years.

The company’s flagship platform is MetWatch, an industry-leading digital portal for weather, irrigation, and pest and disease risk decision support.

The platform provides local weather insight, forecasts, and agricultural weather data to help manage pest and disease pressure, plan spraying and irrigation, aid crop planting, and achieve sustainability goals.

MetWatch is available to New Zealand growers and researchers through industry bodies including Zespri, New Zealand Apples & Pears, Summerfruit NZ, Onions New Zealand, Vegetables New Zealand, New Zealand Plant Producers Incorporated, Plant & Food Research and the Foundation for Arable Research.

Many individual companies – including leading vineyards and packhouses – also subscribe to their own MetWatch portal, which can be set up and tailored to their particular needs.