"This project has increased safety for IAG customers, leading to psychological benefits which are hard to quantify but are of huge importance. For IAG as a business, this will improve risk mitigation, which we expect will result in a reduction in haystack claims per year - which can be a multimillion dollar expense."
Nicholas Carabine, IAG
⬇️ Download project explainer (.pdf)
Haystack fires happen spontaneously and with little warning. Variables, such as moisture at harvest/storage, sugar levels, aeration, and temperature, can play a factor in the likelihood of a fire occurring.
However, these factors are not quantified or modelled, leaving farmers to rely on decades old approaches such as testing with crowbars.
This project identified and reviewed the data essential to understanding haystack degradation as a precursor to fires, and how to process that data so that it can be transmitted through the existing limitations of satellite technologies.
The project aimed to develop an easy and accessible way to monitor haystacks on properties that have low telecommunications coverage.
May 2023 - Final Report: Haystack Fire Prevention
July 2022 - Blog: Great Bales of Fire! Haystacks Burn for Data Collection
July 2022 - Video: Haystack Fire Prevention, Partner Perspective
