Researchers from South Dakota State University have introduced an advanced system designed to help farmers boost crop yields and reduce costs.
Researchers from South Dakota State University developed a high-tech system to help farmers optimize crop yields while lowering costs. The system provides secure monitoring and data collection powered by solar energy, as shown here. Image Credit: Lin Wei, South Dakota State University
Their work, detailed in the paper Integrating IoT and Secure Data Transmission in a Crop Monitoring System, focuses on tracking and analyzing crop development using a combination of sensors, biosensors, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence.
While most IoT-based agricultural systems only simulate post-quantum security on supercomputers, the system developed by SDSU Professor Lin Wei and Ph.D. student Manish Shrestha implements secure, end-to-end encryption in a real-world application, from sensor to cloud.
This work demonstrated that strong, future-proof security can run directly on small devices, potentially eliminating the need for large servers to protect IoT data. This ensures farming data remains private, verifiable and resilient—even against future quantum computer attacks.
Manish Shrestha, Ph.D Student, South Dakota State University
Ensuring data privacy was a top priority for the research team. They employed advanced encryption protocols and cryptographic techniques to protect the large volumes of data gathered and analyzed in the cloud. This data included soil metrics like temperature, humidity, and nutrient levels, as well as potential crop stress indicators such as nutrient deficiencies, disease symptoms, and pest threats, alongside broader environmental conditions.
Once the data was processed and analyzed, it was shared with farmers, equipping them with insights to guide key decisions on irrigation, fertilization, and pest and disease management, without compromising the confidentiality of their operations.
Cybersecurity in agricultural applications emerged as a major theme at this year’s conference.
Shrestha added, “Our research received considerable attention, with many experts emphasizing how cybersecurity must be a core component when developing smart farming technologies. There was a common thread of people recognizing the need for a secure infrastructure for all the data farmers are collecting.”
Looking ahead, the SDSU team plans to enhance their system by improving sensor data processing speed and replacing chemical batteries with solar-powered alternatives to extend operational life—among other updates.
Journal Reference:
Shrestha, M., et al. (2025) Integrating IoT and secure data transmission in a crop monitoring system. Transactions of the ASABE. doi.org/10.13031/aim.202500564.