Frequently Asked Questions

BushLinx is the AgTech brand from Integrated Irrigation — an Australian-owned farm monitoring company based in Penola, South Australia. We've been designing and installing sensor systems for Australian farms since 2010. BushLinx is our software platform and product brand covering everything from weather stations and soil moisture probes to tank monitors and leak detection. When you buy BushLinx, you're dealing directly with the people who built it.

BushLinx was built from the ground up over 15 years using real farmer feedback — it's designed around Australian farming decisions, not adapted from overseas platforms. The key difference is what we do with data: rather than just presenting readings, BushLinx turns sensor data into actionable intelligence — irrigation trigger points, spray application windows, frost risk alerts, grain fill water availability, and more. We also support you directly. No call centres, no offshore helpdesks. If something's not working, we fix it.

Yes. Integrated Irrigation is 100% Australian-owned and operated out of Penola, South Australia. BushLinx software is developed and maintained in Australia. All support comes directly from us — when you call, Tim answers. We're not a reseller of an overseas product; BushLinx is ours, built for Australian conditions and Australian farming.

BushLinx is used across broadacre dryland cropping, irrigated pasture and crop systems, viticulture, horticulture, dairy, and mixed livestock operations. The system is fully customisable — you get the monitoring that suits your operation, not a one-size-fits-all package. We also supply weather station infrastructure for NRM bodies, local councils, and government environmental monitoring projects across Australia.

BushLinx supports weather stations (rainfall, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, barometric pressure), soil moisture probes at multiple depths, tank level monitors (drop-in and external), flow meters, leak detection sensors, and catch can measurement tools. Sensors from many major brands are compatible, and we can accommodate custom sensor configurations for specific monitoring requirements. All sensors feed into the same BushLinx platform regardless of brand or type.

A BushLinx weather station measures rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation, and barometric pressure. From these raw measurements, BushLinx calculates Delta-T (spray application windows), evapotranspiration (ETo), Harvest Fire Danger Index (HFDI), Fire Behaviour Index (FBI), growing degree days, frost severity index, heat hours, chill hours, dew point, cattle heat load, sheep fly strike index, and disease risk models including DMU. On-farm forecasts and hyperlocal forecasts are also available through the platform. It's not just a weather read — it's a decision-making tool.

Yes. BushLinx sends SMS and in-platform alerts for events you define — tank levels dropping below a set threshold, frost risk, a sensor going offline, a leak being detected, rainfall exceeding a trigger, spray window conditions being met, or any custom threshold on any sensor reading. You set the rules; BushLinx monitors 24/7 and notifies you when action is needed.

Yes. BushLinx stores your sensor data long-term, allowing you to compare current conditions against previous seasons. You can view five-plus years of soil moisture trends, growing season rainfall totals, rainfall calendars, and crop water use history on the same chart. Long-term data is where the real value compounds — patterns emerge that change how you plan the next season and beyond.

Delta-T is the difference between dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature — a measure of how fast spray droplets will evaporate before reaching their target. It's a critical spray application metric in Australian cropping: too low a Delta-T and droplets remain suspended too long (drift risk); too high and droplets evaporate before hitting the leaf (wasted product and poor efficacy). BushLinx calculates Delta-T in real time from your on-farm weather station and displays it alongside other spray indicators — wind speed, humidity — so you can make go/no-go spray decisions from your phone, not a guess. On-farm forecasts let you plan spray windows days in advance.

The Harvest Fire Danger Index (HFDI) is an Australian-developed fire risk metric specifically designed for harvesting operations. It differs from general fire danger ratings because it accounts for the unique conditions present in a dry standing crop or windrow — the fuel load and moisture content are quite different from bushfire fuels. BushLinx calculates HFDI in real time from your on-farm weather station, so you're not relying on a regional fire danger reading from a station kilometres away. HFDI is displayed on your dashboard and can trigger SMS alerts when conditions approach or exceed safe harvest thresholds. On-farm forecast integration means you can also see expected HFDI hours ahead for harvest planning.

Bureau of Meteorology forecasts are generated from the nearest observation station, which may be 50–100 km from your property. Rainfall, frost, and wind conditions on your farm can be significantly different from a regional BoM reading. An on-farm BushLinx forecast is generated for your actual weather station site, giving you a location-specific prediction calibrated to your farm. For spray decisions, irrigation scheduling, and harvest timing, that local accuracy can be the difference between a good decision and a costly one.

BushLinx integrates with Janes Weather to offer two levels of on-farm forecasting. The standard On-Farm Forecast generates a location-specific forecast for your weather station site, displayed alongside your live sensor data in the BushLinx platform. The premium On-Farm Hyperlocal Forecast goes further — your on-farm station data is fed into Janes Weather's AI and machine learning models, which generate a forecast calibrated to your specific location over time. The hyperlocal forecast is the most accurate farm-level weather forecast available for agricultural use in Australia, and it gets better the longer your station has been running.

Yes. BushLinx supports private weather station networks — neighbouring farms, a farming systems group, or a corporate's multiple properties can share weather data across a defined private network. Each station owner controls their own data and sharing preferences. Regional networks are also possible for broader coverage across a district. Public networks for NRM bodies, councils, and government environmental agencies are also supported. If you're running a grower group or regional monitoring project, get in touch to discuss options.

Yes — BushLinx is used extensively in both dryland cropping and irrigated systems, and the monitoring approach is quite different between the two. In dryland cropping, soil moisture probes help you understand rooting depth, crop water use through the season, nitrogen timing decisions, and available water for grain fill. In irrigated systems, the focus shifts to irrigation scheduling, drainage control, and replacing only the water the crop uses. Both use cases run through the same BushLinx platform, and many mixed operations run both simultaneously.

Matric potential is a measure of how hard a plant has to work to extract water from the soil — it's a direct indicator of plant water stress, not just soil water content. Unlike volumetric soil moisture readings alone, matric potential tells you whether the water in the soil is available to the plant. BushLinx displays matric potential readings from compatible soil moisture probes, showing when your crop is moving into water stress before visible symptoms appear. This is particularly valuable in irrigated systems for precise irrigation timing, and in dryland cropping for late-season water stress and nitrogen assessments.

BushLinx leak detection uses flow monitoring at key points in your water supply system. When flow is detected outside normal patterns — overnight, on a day when no irrigation is scheduled, or at a rate inconsistent with normal usage — BushLinx generates an alert. Where a compatible solenoid valve is installed, automatic shut-off can be triggered. For livestock water systems, this typically means catching a ball valve failure or trough overflow overnight rather than discovering it on the morning run, by which time hundreds of litres may have been lost. For irrigated systems, it provides protection against leaks in supply lines or failed emitters running undetected.

Yes. BushLinx has a dedicated catch can test tool for recording physical catch can test results across your irrigation system. Results are logged against the date and site, giving you an ongoing record of irrigation uniformity over time. This makes it easy to identify distribution problems — worn nozzles, blocked heads, pressure variation — before they show up as uneven crop performance or water waste. For irrigated dairy, cropping, and horticulture, irrigation uniformity testing is increasingly a compliance and efficiency requirement.

Yes — this is one of BushLinx's core features. You can give your agronomist, irrigation consultant, or any adviser a read-only login to your BushLinx account, or share specific sensors and sites with their existing BushLinx account. They see your live and historical data directly, which means better-informed advice without you having to compile and export reports. You control who has access and can revoke it at any time. Sharing is opt-in, not opt-out.

Yes. BushLinx supports multiple users with configurable access levels — farm managers, agronomists, consultants, family members across multiple properties, and corporate teams can all be set up with appropriate view and management permissions. Data can also be shared across private networks for farming groups or grower networks, or made publicly available for community or government weather monitoring.

Yes. BushLinx supports multiple properties and monitoring sites under a single login. If you're managing more than one farm — or a corporate with multiple properties across different regions — all sites are visible from the same account. You can switch between property views, compare sites, and manage user access across the whole portfolio from one place.

BushLinx is fully browser-based and optimised for mobile, tablet, and desktop — no app download is required. You can check tank levels, soil moisture, weather conditions, and alerts from your phone in the paddock, from the shed, or anywhere with mobile data. SMS alerts are also available so critical notifications reach you even when you're not actively logged into the platform.

Integrated Irrigation handles installation for most customers. Sensors are installed and commissioned by us on-site, and we make sure the platform is configured and showing useful data before we leave. BushLinx hardware is designed for Australian farm conditions — solar powered, weatherproof, and built to run unattended in remote locations. Installation planning includes site selection for optimal connectivity and solar exposure.

BushLinx supports sensors from many major brands and is compatible with a range of third-party data loggers. If you already have sensors in the ground or weather equipment installed, there's a good chance we can integrate your existing hardware into BushLinx without replacement. Contact Tim with details of your current equipment and we'll advise what's possible before you commit to anything.

In many cases, yes. Historical data migration is something we do on upgrades — if your existing platform allows data export, we can work to bring that history across into BushLinx. Keeping long-term data intact matters; a five-year soil moisture record is worth more than starting fresh. Ask about data migration when you make your initial enquiry.

BushLinx stations are solar powered with battery backup — no mains power connection is required. Connectivity is via 4G cellular or AR-Tech radio network, depending on the site's location and signal availability. For remote areas with limited cellular coverage, radio-linked repeater networks can relay data back to a point with connectivity. Power and connectivity requirements are assessed as part of installation planning for each site. See our data loggers page for full connectivity specifications.

Pricing varies depending on the sensors required, station type, connectivity method, and data plan — there's no single price because no two setups are identical. What we can say is that most farms see payback within the first season through water savings, avoided overnight losses from tank failures or leaks, or better spray and harvest timing decisions. Contact Tim for a quote based on your specific requirements and we'll put something together that fits your operation.

Direct support from the people who built the system. When you call Tim on 0459 231 028, he answers. There are no offshore call centres or support ticket queues. Remote diagnostics and configuration are available, and for hardware issues we organise on-site visits. Our customers have been on the BushLinx platform for up to 15 years — that's not an accident. Support is not an afterthought here.

BushLinx was designed for Australian conditions from the start — not adapted from overseas platforms that weren't built with remote connectivity or extreme weather in mind. Solar power handles off-grid operation. The system buffers and stores data locally when connectivity drops, syncing when signal is restored, so gaps caused by temporary outages are minimised. We've been running stations in remote and semi-remote locations across multiple Australian states since 2010.

Yes. BushLinx stations can be configured, updated, and managed remotely. Alert thresholds, sensor settings, user access, and dashboard layouts can all be adjusted without a site visit. This reduces downtime and means settings can be updated in real time as monitoring requirements change — particularly useful at the start of a new season.