Center Pivot Technology
Save Fuel. Add Family Time. Improve Crop Performance.
Watering season has often been called “Irritation Season.” As crop farms have grown by acres, the number of pivots and the distances between them have grown substantially. What used to be a quick trip to the pump station out by the well or the pivot point across the road now takes more time and fuel for startups, shutdowns, or safety checks. Many of those trips can now be performed remotely using telemetry. While these options are not completely new, reliability, functionality, and options have improved significantly in recent years. New products are available at a steady pace.
AgSense®
These units, which were originally placed on the last tower of the machine and allowed you to start and stop your machine, are now built into the line of Valley ICON® panels. This fixed, stable position is no longer bouncing around the field. It is easier to access, if needed, at the pivot point and has an improved lifespan. Functionality and options continue to grow for this handy option.
Crop Link®
These multi-function units are part of the AgSense family and can offer pump control or monitoring and similar functions for flow meters, weather services, or tank monitors. Just about any electric motor is adaptable, including devices in your grain systems. If you already have AgSense on your pivot, there is no additional subscription cost to add a crop link to that system for well control or other options.
Electric Valve
If you have multiple pivots utilizing a single water supply, an electric valve can be a game changer. Switching the water supply to the next pivot to begin watering can also be done remotely on your same device. Save trips, save fuel, and save time with the AgSense app on your phone or tablet.
Valley Scheduling™
This management system includes software, hardware, and services. You enter your specific farm information and field data. With various devices, you collect soil and weather data, and recommendations are calculated and provided on when, where, and how much to irrigate.
Speed Control
Variable Rate Irrigation
Valley currently has three different options for variable rate irrigation. The basic package that comes standard with any ICON panel uses speed control to speed up or slow down your pivot, varying the application depth in pie-like slices through the pivot revolution using GPS position. VRI Zone control improves precision irrigation by breaking your sprinkler package applications with pulse valves. Up to 5000 sectors can be utilized to micromanage application depth for fields with various soil types, topography, and other field variations. VRI Prescriptions are custom tailored prescriptions created and used throughout the season for even finer tuning changes in field conditions and maximizing water conservation.
Valley Aqua Trac
Aqua Trac connects soil moisture probes and sensors to determine soil moisture, content, temperature, and salinity. When connected with AgSense, you can monitor soil water and get a 7-day irrigation scheduling forecast through Valley Scheduling.
Valley Weather Station
The Valley Weather Station collects farm-specific information on precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation and can be shared with Valley Scheduling for irrigation recommendations.
Artificial Intelligence
Various data collection methods, including satellite imagery, pivot-mounted cameras, drones, and soil probes, will be able to gather ongoing up-to-the-minute data to identify and make observations on crop health and solutions to optimize yield well beyond our current means of scouting. Stay tuned…
In addition to the benefits of automated “scouting,” data gathering, and equipment control, you can save time, miles, and fuel expenses. This means you can add to your time bank and spend a bit more of it with family at functions and activities. The bonus is knowing you are well equipped to make sound management decisions improving performance on your farm, even if you are away from your pivots.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pete is the marketing manager for Michigan Valley Irrigation, having joined the company in 2016. He was raised on a dairy farm in western New York and graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in agricultural economics. His entire working career of over 37 years has been involved in agriculture. A farmer helping farmers. When away from Michigan Valley he operates, Joyful Noise Farm, a small livestock and produce farm and spends time with his family.
