West Sussex County Council is leading the way in smart livestock monitoring. Through the public sector-led Growing Sussex programme, it is partnering with Boldyn Networks (Boldyn) and agritech specialist Pneumonitor, to connect Pneumonitor’s in-pen environmental monitoring device to Boldyn’s private 5G network. The deployment gives farmers near real-time insight into conditions inside livestock buildings, helping them identify and respond more quickly to environmental factors that may increase the risk of respiratory disease and animal stress.
Unlike sensors typically mounted on walls, Pneumonitor measures conditions within the pen, where the animals are. Connected through 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology, the device can share timely information from livestock buildings and support practical, scalable monitoring across farms.
The deployment comes as repeated heatwaves across parts of the UK and Europe place greater pressure on livestock and farm operations. By helping farmers understand how conditions are changing, the technology can support earlier action, animal health and welfare, productivity and long-term resilience.
Cllr Yvonne Gravely, Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills at West Sussex County Council, said: “Agriculture plays a vital role in West Sussex, but periods of extreme weather are creating new challenges for the sector. Through Growing Sussex, we’re helping growers and food producers use technology to better understand changing conditions, protect animal welfare and build resilience for the future. That’s good for local businesses, good for our rural economy and good for West Sussex.”
Gearoid Collins, Commercial Director, Real Estate, Enterprise & Wind Farms at Boldyn Networks, said: “As the connectivity partner for Growing Sussex, we’re committed to helping shape a new era for agriculture and deploy technologies that bring a welcome boost to the West Sussex economy. Connecting Pneumonitor through RedCap shows how private 5G can support practical agritech and provide the digital foundation for many more connected applications across the farming sector.”
Isaac Orr, Chief Executive Officer at Pneumonitor, said: “With heatwaves becoming more frequent, conditions inside livestock buildings can deteriorate faster than they can be spotted by eye. Pneumonitor measures conditions in the pen itself, where the animals are, rather than at the wall where sensors are usually mounted. This project showed when heat load was building and what could be done before yields were affected. The connectivity behind the deployment now allows us to bring this monitoring to far more sites than before. We thank Boldyn Networks and the Growing Sussex programme for their partnership.”
Bringing advanced wireless technology to the farm
RedCap is designed for IoT devices that do not require the full capabilities of standard 5G. It combines 5G connectivity with lower power consumption, reduced battery requirements and longer device life, helping lower maintenance needs and operating costs for farm-based deployments.
Growing Sussex was established by West Sussex County Council to co-develop and showcase practical uses of 5G, IoT and AI across food, drink and agricultural production. The programme brings together local government, specialist education providers and technology partners, with input from growers and livestock producers.
Boldyn Networks and West Sussex County Council announced plans for four private 5G networks in 2024. All four Growing Sussex partner sites were live by December 2025. The Pneumonitor integration adds livestock-building environmental monitoring to the programme’s wider connected-agriculture ecosystem.
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