Down on the farm with private 5G

As the seasons change and apples and pumpkins are ready to pick in Washington state, Swan Trails Farm is offering multitudes of fruit and vegetables, a corn maze and this year a private 5G network to help its farm laborers. Scott Waller, CTO of systems integrator Khasm Labs worked with Moso Networks and Druid Software to deploy the 5G private network. The network is based around a Druid 5G standalone (5G SA) core and uses 2 Moso 5G radios sitting on top of a barn “to cover about 80 acres” on the farm. The farm uses the 5G CBRS 3.5 GHz band to operate, with Starlink satellite backhaul. “I’m upgrading their Starlink to a new dish because the old one is getting a little old,” Waller said. Waller notes that with the harvest festival starting, “agro-tourists” visiting the farm can now buy their deep-fried apple donuts without delay by tapping on the Square payment tabs that are connected to the farm’s devices and supported by the private 5G network. The network also helps Swan Trail Farms measure rainfall and support crop growth.