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Abstract
Continuous improvement of agriculture is necessitated by growing demand for products. Two applications of agricultural radio telemetry are proposed that could improve production and research. Precision agriculture requires up-to-date information, but data telemetry can be too expensive for academic researchers. The first application is a low cost soil telemetry system based on RFID equipment, and a bench level prototype was developed to show feasibility. For the second application, modern poultry production often relies on "tunnel ventilation" in houses to remediate the effects of high temperature and humidity. Air speed control is generally based on ambient temperature, ignoring the state of the birds themselves. An experimental system was assembled to determine the feasibility of closed-loop control of air speed in a tunnel ventilation enclosure based on a bird's deep body temperature (DBT). Results show that DBT feedback can be used in a closed-loop system controlling poultry tunnel ventilation.