PanelPilotACE Display Powers Agricultural Fertiliser Monitoring System by Specialist Instruments

Founded in 2004 and based in Salisbury, Specialist Instruments Ltd. designs and manufactures control systems for pumps and compressors across a variety of industrial sectors. While the company delivers custom solutions across multiple markets, one area seeing rapid and sustained growth is agriculture—particularly renewable energy farming.

Supporting Agricultural Biogas Initiatives

With government incentives encouraging the use of anaerobic digesters, many farmers are turning agricultural waste—such as crop residue or manure—into methane-rich biogas. This process not only generates revenue but also produces nitrogen-rich slurry, which can be repurposed as organic field fertiliser.

It’s a circular, sustainable solution: farmers profit from energy production and reinvest in their land with environmentally friendly fertilisation.

Precision Monitoring Inside the Tractor Cab

To support this closed-loop process, Specialist Instruments developed an onboard monitoring instrument for use in large muck-spreading tractors. The system measures how many litres of slurry are spread per square metre, ensuring precise application.

“We’ve designed and manufactured an onboard instrument that measures the quantitative amount of liters of fertiliser spread per square meter. This is important as a means of paying the sub-contractor doing the spreading, ensuring excess fertiliser hasn’t been dumped in one spot and providing an easy way of effectively monitoring, recording and delivering data. A slurry tank pumping through a dribble bar with an attached flow meter sensor sends data to our panel situated in the tractor cab informing the driver of quantities spread.”
– Glynne, Founder, Specialist Instruments

The original design used a basic display, but as the application evolved, Glynne sought something more capable. While browsing through a distributor’s website, he came across the PanelPilotACE display—an intuitive, code-free HMI solution that offered the customisation and functionality he was looking for.

Rapid Interface Development with PanelPilotACE

Glynne integrated the SGD 43-A display into the tractor’s cab panel using the free drag-and-drop PanelPilotACE Design Studio software. Thanks to the streamlined setup, he had the interface programmed within hours and testing underway within days.

“I can code but it’s a time consuming process. Using the design software supplied with the display, what would have taken weeks took me half a day. That’s more time to test, more time to run a business.”

Designed for Scalability

Currently used in a single agricultural control system, Glynne sees strong potential for broader application across other projects.

“With a little guidance from video tutorials, this product was very quickly able to integrate into our cab control panel. The combination of capacitive touchscreen with multiple analog and digital inputs and outputs make it a great contender for multiple applications. Factor in such a rapid turnaround on programming and I see a lot of opportunity for PanelPilotACE across many more projects.”

He also praised the user-friendly development environment:

“A different and simplified approach, with a programming interface that is straightforward.”

Why PanelPilotACE Works in Agricultural Applications

Quick integration with field hardware such as flow meters and pumps
Touchscreen interface with a responsive, professional-grade display
Drag-and-drop software design—no coding required
Multiple analogue and digital I/O options
Ideal for industrial control, monitoring, and mobile environments

By implementing PanelPilotACE, Specialist Instruments has delivered a solution that makes precision agriculture more accessible, efficient, and data-driven.