IoT and Connected Agriculture: Monitoring Farms in France in 2026

July 17, 2026 · 12 min read

12 min read

IoT Infrastructure

France is Europe’s leading agricultural nation. However, French farms are facing increasing pressure: rising energy costs, stricter environmental regulations, a shortage of skilled labor, and traceability requirements in the agri-food sector. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offers concrete solutions to these challenges.

This guide outlines the main use cases for agricultural IoT in France, compatible equipment, costs, and ROI, and explains how to implement a robust agricultural monitoring solution in rural areas—even without a fiber connection.

Agriculture: A Fertile Ground for the Industrial IoT

Modern agriculture already uses a wide range of electronic and electromechanical equipment: automated irrigation systems, fans in livestock buildings, milk cooling tanks, storage silos, climate-controlled greenhouses, and well pumps. The vast majority of these devices have communication interfaces (Modbus RTU, 4–20 mA, pulse outputs) that enable an IoT connection without the need for replacement.

What the IoT Brings to Agriculture:

24/7 monitoring without the need for the farmer to be present at all times
Immediate alerts in the event of an anomaly (equipment failure, threshold exceeded)
Historical data for optimizing practices and ensuring traceability
Reduced losses (non-compliant milk, poor crop growth, animal mortality)
Easier regulatory compliance (animal welfare, water regulations)

Use Case 1: Monitoring of Livestock Facilities

Pig barns, chicken coops, dairy cattle

Off-the-ground livestock facilities (pig barns, chicken coops, dairy barns) are particularly well-suited for IoT monitoring. The critical parameters to monitor are:

Building Climate Conditions:

Temperature (°C) and relative humidity (%): Significant fluctuations directly impact the animals’ growth and health
CO₂ concentration (ppm): an indicator of air quality and ventilation efficiency
NH₃ concentration (ammonia, ppm): a hazardous gas produced by manure, regulated for animal welfare

Ventilation Equipment:

On/off status of each fan (digital input)
Rotational speed or damper position (0-10V or 4-20mA output)
Power consumption per circuit (current transformer)

Feed and Water:

Feed silo levels (ultrasonic level sensor)
Water consumption (pulse flow meter)
Status of automatic feeders (ON/OFF)

Compatible sensors and interfaces:

Parameter	Recommended Sensor	Interface
Building Temperature/Humidity	Sensirion SHT31, Rotronic HF5	Modbus RS-485 or 4-20 mA
CO₂	Senseair S8, COZIR-Blink	Modbus RTU or UART
NH₃ (ammonia)	Membrapor NH3/M-100, Winsen ZE07	4–20 mA or Modbus
Silo Level	Pepperl+Fuchs UC6000, SICK UM30	4-20 mA or IO-Link
Water Flow Meter	Sontex Supercal 5, Itron Actaris	Pulse or Modbus

Typical alert thresholds for livestock buildings:

Parameter	Green Zone	Orange Zone (Alert)	Red Zone (Emergency)
Temperature in finishing pig barn	18–22°C	< 15°C or > 26°C	< 10°C or > 30°C
Humidity in poultry house	50–70%	> 80%	> 90%
CO₂ in poultry house	< 3000 ppm	> 3000 ppm	> 5000 ppm
NH₃ in swine	< 10 ppm	> 10 ppm	> 20 ppm (regulatory threshold)

Use Case 2: Monitoring Milk Tanks

Cooling milk is a regulatory requirement (amended decree of September 15, 2004): cow's milk must be cooled to 8°C within 2 hours of milking and kept at a maximum of 4°C until it is picked up.

Failure to comply with these temperatures results in:

Irreversible microbiological spoilage of the milk
Refusal by the dairy to collect the milk (direct financial loss)
Contractual penalties (quality penalties)

IoT Monitoring of the Milk Tank:

Most modern milk tanks (Boumatic, Mueller, DeLaval, GEA, Lemmer-Fullwood) have an RS-232 or RS-485 Modbus port for monitoring. Accessible parameters include:

Milk temperature (°C) with a resolution of 0.1°C
Cooling compressor status
Milk volume (if the tank has a gauge)
Temperature history (complete curve since the last milking)

The Eziwan Gateway connects to the tank via RS-232 or RS-485 and uploads data to the cloud at a configurable 5-minute polling interval. An SMS alert is sent if the temperature exceeds 8°C for more than 15 minutes.

Customer Case Study: A dairy farmer in Brittany who manages 3 milk tanks (a 120-cow operation) avoided 2 collection rejections in 6 months thanks to nighttime text alerts (compressor failure detected at 2 a.m., repair completed at 4 a.m. before the 6 a.m. pickup). Savings: 2 × 800 L × €0.40/L = €640 in avoided losses, plus quality penalties.

Use Case 3: Monitoring Horticultural and Vegetable Greenhouses

Horticultural greenhouses represent a significant investment (50 to 300 €/m²), and their profitability depends on maintaining optimal climatic conditions. IoT monitoring helps detect issues—such as heating failures, blocked ventilation, or torn plastic sheeting—before they cause irreversible damage to crops.

Parameters to monitor in a greenhouse:

Parameter	Importance	Interface
Air temperature (°C)	Critical	PT100/PT1000 or Modbus
Relative humidity (%)	High	Modbus RS-485
Solar radiation (W/m²)	Medium	4–20 mA (pyranometer)
Ambient CO₂ (ppm)	High (if CO₂ enrichment)	Modbus RS-485
Leaf temperature (°C)	Optional	Thermocouple
Irrigation water consumption (m³/day)	High	Pulse or Modbus
Nutrient solution temperature (°C)	High (soil-less)	PT100 or 4–20 mA
Nutrient solution EC (mS/cm)	High (soil-less)	4–20 mA
Nutrient solution pH	High (soil-less)	4–20 mA

Greenhouse equipment that can be monitored:

Boilers and heat pumps (heating): Bosch, Vaillant, Viessmann — via Modbus or digital relays
Fans and vents: 0-10V control or relay
Irrigation pumps: Modbus variable-frequency drive
Water treatment unit (UVA, reverse osmosis system): digital on/off inputs

ROI for vegetable greenhouse monitoring: For a 5,000 m² tomato greenhouse (annual production ~500 t, resale price ~0.80€/kg = 400,000€ in annual revenue), an undetected heating failure at night in March can destroy an entire crop—resulting in a loss of €100,000 to €200,000. The cost of an Eziwan gateway with SMS alerts: €500 + €100/year for the subscription. Immediate ROI.

Use Case 4: Irrigation Management

Irrigation accounts for 45% of industrial water consumption in France. Regulations are becoming stricter (decrees imposing restrictions during low-flow periods, water fees), making precise irrigation management essential.

IoT-Based Irrigation Monitoring:

Field-specific flow meters: measurement of the volume of water applied per field or per crop (Modbus or pulse)
Soil moisture sensors (tensiometers, TDR sensors): measure volumetric moisture and soil suction—data used to trigger irrigation
Integrated weather stations: Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) calculated in real time, integrated with Météo France for forecast PET
Well water meters: tracking of water volumes withdrawn for DDT reporting (regulatory requirements > 1,000 m³/year)
Well pumps and irrigation units: monitoring of status and electricity consumption

Regulatory Compliance: Facilities that withdraw more than 1,000 m³/year of groundwater or surface water must report their withdrawals (Article L214-1 of the Environmental Code). Eziwan automatically generates monthly withdrawal reports for submission to the DDT/DREAL.

Use Case 5: Storage Silos

Grain storage is a major economic issue. Inadequate storage conditions (temperature, humidity) can lead to the formation of mycotoxins (aflatoxins, DON) or mold, which can degrade the quality of the grain or render it unsellable.

Parameters to monitor:

Temperature: silo temperature chains (Rolfes, GSI) with 4 to 8 probes per silo at different heights
Moisture: grain moisture sensors, either continuous or at the silo inlet (receiving silo)
Level: ultrasonic or pressure-based level sensors to determine stored volume
Ventilation: status of exhaust and cooling fans, airflow (m³/h)
Electricity consumption: automatic fan control based on temperature

Interface: Most modern silo control systems (Superchief, GSI Fan Controller, Brock NECO) have a Modbus RS-485 output or an RS-232 port.

4G Connectivity for Farms

The vast majority of French farms do not have fiber-optic connectivity. 4G LTE covers 99.2% of French municipalities (source: Arcep 2025), but coverage inside buildings can be poor.

Solutions for areas with poor coverage:

External directional 4G antenna: gain of 9 to 15 dBi, range of up to 30 km in direct line of sight, compatible with all carriers. Mounts on the edge of a building’s gable or on a mast.
Eziwan Multi-Carrier SIM: Tests all three French carriers (Orange, SFR, Bouygues) and connects to the best available signal. Significantly improves coverage in rural areas.
LoRa + 4G Gateway: For sensors with very low power consumption and located at great distances (up to 15 km), a LoRaWAN architecture with a LoRa concentrator connected via 4G through the Eziwan Gateway can cover an entire facility.
Satellite connection (last resort): For locations with no 4G coverage, a satellite option (Starlink low-latency or Eutelsat ViaSat) can be integrated with the Eziwan Gateway. Latency is 20–40 ms with Starlink.

Agricultural Regulations and the IoT

Animal Welfare

European Directive 2008/120/EC (pigs), 2007/43/EC (broiler chickens), and 1999/74/EC (laying hens) require minimum standards for temperature, space, ventilation, and lighting. IoT monitoring makes it possible to:

Continuously document compliance with regulatory thresholds
Provide evidence during inspections by the DDPP (Departmental Directorate for Population Protection)
Issue immediate alerts if a regulatory threshold is exceeded

Nitrates Directive

Farms located in nitrate-vulnerable zones are subject to the Regional Action Program (PAR). Monitoring of manure application and effluent management (flow meter on the spreader boom, tank level) facilitates compliance with application bans and the calculation of application rates.

Supply Chain Traceability

Many industry standards (Label Rouge, AOP, IGP, organic farming) require traceability of farming or growing conditions. Eziwan’s IoT data is archived and can be exported to feed into traceability tools (Bluerex, Kite Consulting, OAD-Systèmes).

Costs and ROI for a Farm

Typical Investment

Equipment	Estimated Cost
Eziwan Gateway + M2M SIM	350–500 €
External 4G antenna (if needed)	80–150 €
Temperature/humidity sensors (×3)	150–400 €
RS-485 cabling (50 m)	40–80 €
Installation (2 hours by a technician)	200–400 €
Total installation (1 building)	820–1,530 €

Subscription	Annual Cost
Eziwan Platform (1 gateway)	120–240 €
M2M SIM (200 MB/month plan)	60–120 €
Annual Total	€180–360

ROI for a Dairy Farm

Cost of a collection refusal: €600 to €2,000 (depending on volume + penalties)
Annual risk without supervision: 1 to 2 tank incidents per year over 5 years of operation
Annualized cost of an incident: €600 to €800 per year
Supervision cost: €250 to €400 per year
Net ROI: €200 to €550 per year = paid off in less than 1 year

Available Assistance

The France 2030 plan and PCAE (Farm Competitiveness and Adaptation Plan) grants partially fund equipment for digital agricultural modernization. Subsidy rates vary by region and program (30 to 50% of eligible investments). Contact your chamber of agriculture or your FranceAgriMer advisor to find out which programs apply to your project.

Conclusion

Industrial IoT is now accessible to French farms, thanks to widespread 4G coverage, standardized Modbus sensors, and cost-effective cloud platforms like Eziwan. The technical and financial barriers that had been holding back adoption have been significantly reduced.

For an initial investment of €1,000 to €2,000 per building and a subscription fee of less than €400 per year, a farmer benefits from 24/7 monitoring of their critical equipment, immediate SMS alerts, and a documented history to meet their regulatory obligations.

Next step: Contact the Eziwan team for a free feasibility study tailored to your farm and your type of production.

FAQ

Is 4G available in rural agricultural areas of France? 4G coverage in metropolitan France reaches over 99% of the population but only ~80% of the country’s total land area—some farms in “white spots” remain without coverage. For these areas: the NB-IoT (NarrowBand-IoT) network offers better penetration inside buildings and greater range, and satellite solutions (Starlink) are becoming available for completely isolated sites. It is essential to verify coverage at the exact site beforehand before any deployment.

Can an existing grain silo or cooperative warehouse be connected without replacing the equipment? In the vast majority of cases, yes. Modern silos have temperature and humidity sensors with 4–20 mA or RS485 Modbus outputs—an IoT gateway connects directly to them. For older equipment without a digital interface, replacement sensors compatible with Modbus RTU are available starting at €50 to €100 per measurement point.

What regulatory requirements can IoT monitoring help document? In livestock farming: health traceability requirements (preventive measures, animal identification, transport conditions—EU Regulation 2016/429), animal welfare (temperatures, ventilation, stocking density), and DPE/PAC inspections can rely on IoT data histories as evidence. The automatic log of all measurements with a certified timestamp is a significant advantage during inspections.

Additional Resources

Remote Irrigation Monitoring — control and monitoring of irrigation systems via IoT
Internet Connection for Remote Industrial Sites — 4G connectivity for farms in rural areas
Industrial Equipment Monitoring — monitoring of agricultural and storage equipment
Industrial Connectivity — robust connectivity solutions for rural areas
Eziwan Industrial Solutions — a range of IoT solutions tailored to primary sectors

IoT and Connected Agriculture: Monitoring Farms in France in 2026

Agriculture: A Fertile Ground for the Industrial IoT