Valley Irrigation Blog

The Precision Irrigation Blog is Moving to a New Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:19:00 +0000

Attention, attention! This blog is moving a new home! You will still be able to read up on your favorite center pivot and linear irrigation brand at our NEW blog called Growing the Conversation, which can be found at GrowingTheConversation.blogspot.com! If you are a subscriber of the Precision Irrigation blog, please switch your subscription to Growing the Conversation by clicking here.

Thank you all for following Valley® on the Precision Irrigation blog. We look forward to growing our conversation with you in the future!

The Precision Irrigation Blog by Valley Irrigation will be officially deleted on Friday, March 22, 2013. Please change your shortcuts and subscriptions as soon as possible.

Variable Rate Irrigation to be Highlighted at Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:39:00 +0000

VRI Speed Control

VRI Zone Control

Variable Rate Irrigation will be a featured product at the 2011 Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA.

"Drought and overall dry conditions have been the story of this crop season throughout the Southeast and beyond," states Southeast AgNet Radio Network. "With that in mind, Chip Blalock of the Sunbelt Ag Expo says attendees to the 34th annual event coming up October 18-20, 2011, will have the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of variable rate irrigation."

To listen to the entire podcast from Southeast AgNet Radio Network, please click here.

Valley Irrigation will be showcasing Valley Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) at the expo. Valley VRI offers the ultimate precision irrigation. With a combination of hardware and software, Valley VRI allows the grower to adjust the desired amount of water in a particular sector (VRI Speed Control) or management zone (VRI Zone Control). Ideal for fields with multiple soil types and varying topography, irrigation application with VRI can be programed to match specific field conditions.

To learn more about Valley VRI, stop by lot A-4 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, where a VRI expert will be to answer any of your questions.

End of Season Irrigation Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:53:00 +0000

In North America, we are finally winding down from summer into fall. In western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, the weather is cooling enough that it actually feels like football season! The summer was, as usual, filled with lots of extreme and odd weather events in various locations. However, there was also a sense of “same old, same old” to it. We all know that summer will be hot, and at some point(s) there is a significant potential for crop stress due to water shortage. Even in this area, you did not have to drive very far from a flooded Missouri River Valley to see significant drought problems.

At this time of the season, many farmers have stopped irrigating; others are still running. The question is, when should we stop? The balance to strike is to make sure the crop has enough water available to finish its development and maximize yield, but still leave plenty of room in the soil to store any off-season precipitation that comes from winter snow and rain.

The University of Nebraska has an excellent extension publication, Neb Guide G1871, titled “Predicting the Last Irrigation of the Season”. It focuses on conditions typical to Nebraska, but the strategy is consistent with any crop growing area. You assess the current growth stage of the crop, estimate the time (and amount of water) needed to finish its development, and subtract the available water in the root zone. This difference is the additional water needed from rain and/or irrigation to finish the crop.

For example (in Nebraska), with a corn crop past full dent (3/4 milk line), full maturity is approximately 7 days away. Water use to reach maturity is approximately 1.0”. If your crop is in this condition, and you have at least an inch of available water in the root zone, no problem. However, if your corn crop is barely at full dent (1/2 milk line), there are still about 13 days to maturity, with a water use expected to be 2.25”. If you have already been backing off irrigation and the soil is bone dry, it might be wise to consider a little irrigation. In soybeans, once the leaves start to yellow, there are about 10 days left to maturity, and the crop will need about 1.9” of water.

Of course, different areas of a field could be in different conditions, due to soil, crop, and topographic factors. Having the ability to use precision management techniques may be useful. While we all want to maximize yield, we also shouldn’t underestimate the value of having good, dry conditions heading into harvest. Compaction, rutting, and machinery problems will be lower if we don’t incur the extra costs of watering too much at the end of the season.

Have a great, safe and profitable harvest!

Delta Center Field Day

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:23:00 +0000

The University of Missouri Delta Research Center will host a field day on September 2, 2011. The field day will include information on variable rate irrigation, among other research initiatives. For more information, please read this press release.

Water Application | UP3

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:15:00 +0000

For many growers, it is necessary to change their sprinkler package flow rate during the irrigation season. In areas like the Texas Panhandle, declining water tables throughout the irrigation season reduces the pivot operating pressure. Lowering the machine flow rate will typically increase the machine pressure, maintaining the proper operating pressure for the sprinklers. Fields with heavy soils can benefit by using lower machine flow rates early in the season to reduce sprinkler package application intensity. As the crop canopy develops and crop water requirements increase later in the season, the sprinkler nozzles can be changed to increase the machine flow rate.

Center pivot irrigation sprinklers use nozzles (fixed orifices) to precisely set the water flow rate at each sprinkler location along the length of a center pivot. As the sprinkler locations move farther away from the center point, the water flow rate increases due to the larger area covered by positions farther from the center point. For example, the last sprinkler on a 1,300’ center pivot covers an area that is over 28 times larger than a sprinkler at 50’ from the center point.

Sprinkler manufacturers offer 45 different nozzle sizes to meet the flow rate requirements on center pivot machines. The nozzle diameter range begins with the smallest at 0.0625” (8/128”) and increments in 0.0078” (1/128”) up to the largest at 0.4063” (52/128”). When describing the nozzle orifice diameter it is common to use the nozzle numerator. For Valley and Nelson® sprinkler brands, a #15 nozzle refers to a 15/128” nozzle orifice diameter. Senninger sprinklers use 64ths to describe their nozzle orifice diameters. A #7 nozzle is equivalent to 7/64”. The Senninger® brand also uses “half sizes” to describe the full range of nozzles. A #7.5 refers to a 7.5/64” (15/128”) orifice diameter. Sprinkler manufacturers also use various colors and shapes to make nozzle identification easy and quick for sprinkler package assembly and field modifications.

Earlier this year, Senninger Irrigation released a new sprinkler product line, UP3 (Universal Pivot Products Platform). A feature of this sprinkler series is an easy clean, easy change nozzle design.

To remove the nozzle you pinch and pull.

Place and press until you hear a click to reinstall the nozzle.

The nozzle is installed from the side of the sprinkler, eliminating sprinkler disassembly.

Dual Nozzle Holder

Nelson Irrigation offers a dual and triple nozzle holder for their 3000 series pivot sprinklers. The dual nozzle holder holds two nozzles, one nozzle within the sprinkler and one nozzle held outside of the sprinkler. To change the nozzle, the sprinkler is disassembled and the nozzle holder is switched around changing the sprinkler to a different flow rate.

Triple Nozzle Holder

The triple nozzle holder can have 3 different nozzle sizes. One nozzle is in the sprinkler while two nozzles are held outside of the sprinkler.

For more information on the UP3 product line, or other water application packages offered by Valley Irrigation, please contact the Valley Water Application Group: jgerdes@valmont.com.

2011 North American Manure Expo | Stop By Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:31:00 +0000

Cole Fredrick of the Valley Variable Rate Irrigation team will be at the 2011 North American Manure Expo today, July 20th! Stop by the Valley Irrigation booth #92S to chat with Cole and learn about Variable Rate Irrigation!

Dates: July 20, 2011
Times: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Northeast Community College Ag Complex | 2301 East Benjamin Avenue | Norfolk, NE
Admission Price: FREE
Website: http://manureexpo.com/

This year's show theme is "Professionalism in Manure Management." Along with our VRI representative will be presence from Cascade Earth Science (CES) to answer questions on wastewater management.

Tony Gum (Valley Irrigation Territory Manager) will be giving a presentation on center pivots used for manure distribution at 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

We will be Tweeting all day on the Expo! Follow us @ValleyPivots.

Circles for Rice Field Day | July 12, 2011 | Eagle Lake, TX

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:32:00 +0000

RSVP Today! Valley Irrigation Rice Production under Center Pivots Field Day!

Date: Tuesday, July 12th
Where: Eagle Lake, TX
Times: Registration @ 8:30 a.m. | Presentations @ 9:15 a.m. | Lunch @ 11:30 a.m.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com or www.CirclesForRice.com or 800-825-6688 ext. 3042

Lunch will be provided after the field day presentations. This field day is open to the public.

Field Location: Kevin Hoffman's field | 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 | near Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 28' 18.71" Long 96 21' 44.06"

Lunch Location: Lunch Location: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | 3055 Hwy 3013 | Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 32' 19.49" Long 96 19' 26.01"

Presentation topics will include:

Water & Energy Savings
Rice Seed Characteristics
Chemigation/Fertigation & Water Application
Irrigation Management
Irrigation Equipment & Controls
Crop Expectations
Past Results of Project

Circles for Rice Field Day | July 12, 2011 | Eagle Lake, TX

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Valley Irrigation Circles for Rice Field Day Announcement

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Location: Eagle Lake, Texas, USA
Time: Registration @ 8:30 a.m.
RSVP: rice@valmont.com or www.CirclesForRice.com or 800-825-668 ext. 3042

Lunch will be provided following the field day presentations. This field day is open to the public.

Field Location: Kevin Hoffman's field | 1/2 mile west of the intersection of FM950 and FM2614 | near Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 28' 18.71" Long 96 21' 44.06"

Lunch Location: RiceTec Eagle Lake Facility | 3055 Hwy 3013 | Eagle Lake, TX | GPS Lat 29 32' 19.49" Long 96 19' 26.01"

Presentation topics will include:

Water & Energy Savings
Rice Seed Characteristics
Chemigation/Fertigation & Water Application
Irrigation Management
Irrigation Equipment & Controls
Crop Expectations
Past Results of Project

RSVP to receive a special gift at the field day! We look forward to seeing you in Texas!

Valley VRI Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:24:00 +0000

Valley Irrigation has defined a team dedicated to the Variable Rate Irrigation products. This team focuses on several avenues: setting up VRI project fields, uploading prescriptions, making sure that growers and Valley Dealers are on the same page, visiting fields with Zone Control, making sure everything is running, and performing validation tests, among other tasks.

Each week, we will blog about the VRI team’s efforts and their current activities.

Start-up continues for both VRI Speed Control and VRI Zone Control. Past weeks' activities by the VRI team have focused on:

VRI Zone Control validation test

Validation of performance on VRI Zone Control

Tests use a grid of cans set in an arc to measure the application depths as the pivot zone passes over the cans
VRI Zone prescription is written to change the percent depth

Start-up of a Valley corner with VRI Zone Control for off/on control as the center pivot and corner pass over a ditch
Meetings with Valley Dealers to answer questions
Meeting with a USDA-ARS research group on their findings and experience with VRI
Meetings with Valley Dealers and customers considering VRI

One grower has four crops under the same pivot and is looking for an easier way to change application depths; right now, he reprograms the control panel all of the time

Center pivot moving into rice crop

In the picture on the right, you can see the center pivot moving out of the soybeans into the rice crop. After some discussion, the grower thinks the Valley VRI Speed Control is what he needs.

Water Application | VRI

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:35:00 +0000

Sprinkler applicator products used on center pivots are classified into two categories: fixed sprays and rotating sprays. Both types are designed to operate at low pressures to minimize pumping costs. Fixed sprays work best on medium to light soils. Rotating sprays have the largest wetted diameter of all low-pressure sprinklers and work best on heavy type soils or fields with slopes to prevent runoff. Mounting sprinklers below the machine trussing structure is common to reduce water losses due to evaporation and wind drift. Both types of sprays can be used with Valley VRI products.

High water application efficiencies and water distribution uniformity are common place with center pivot sprinkler packages. This allows growers to maximize their crop yields while using less water. To further improve water use, growers are looking to manage their water application based on soil types. A field with soil types varying from sand to clay is a challenge for irrigation management. Apply water based on the sandy type soil and risk over watering the heavy clay soils or apply water based on the clay soils and risk under watering the sandy soils.

The Valley VRI products make it possible to manage each soil type individually. With VRI Speed Control, the machine speed is adjusted to change the water application depth. Using VRI Zone Control, a solenoid actuated hydraulic valve controls sprinkler run time to adjust the application depth. The sprinkler run time is changed by cycling the sprinkler valves on and off. To reduce the sprinkler zone application depth by 50%, the sprinkler valves will cycle the sprinklers so they are running 50% of the time and off 50% of the time.

What is Valley VRI?

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:57:00 +0000

This spring, Valley Irrigation is focused on the introduction of the Valley Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) product line and services offered by CropMetrics™.

VRI is a combination of hardware, software, and control features that provides ultimate precision irrigation to growers. Ideal for fields with multiple soil types and varying topography, irrigation application with VRI can be programmed to match specific field conditions. VRI is available for center pivots.

Two applications of VRI are available:

VRI Speed Control | Adjust application depth in up to 180 individual sectors in a field
VRI Zone Control | Adjust the application depth in up to 5,400 different management zones in a field

In order to use VRI Speed Control or VRI Zone Control, a VRI prescription must be uploaded to the center pivot’s control panel or TrackerLT.

CropMetrics is a company that specializes in data management and writing VRI prescriptions for Valley VRI Speed Control and VRI Zone Control. For more information on CropMetrics, please visit www.cropmetrics.com.

For general VRI inquiries, please contact us at ValleyVRI@valmont.com or +1-402-359-6062.

Welcome to the Precision Irrigation Blog by Valley Irrigation!

noreply@blogger.com (Valley Irrigation) — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:48:00 +0000

Welcome to the Precision Irrigation blog by Valley Irrigation! We will be keeping you up-to-date on various aspects of precision irrigation, including Valley Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) and crop management practices.

Comments are more than welcome, and we encourage discussion.

Though we will be publishing all posts under the name "Valley Irrigation," several authors will be contributing to this blog:

Jake LaRue | Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) Product Manager, Valley Irrigation
Cole Fredrick | VRI Specialist, Valley Irrigation
Justin Loeffler | VRI Specialist, Valley Irrigation
Jerry Gerdes | Water Application Product Manager, Valley Irrigation
Kelly Downing | Ag Project Specialist, Valley Irrigation
Martin Brack | Jr. Irrigation Application Engineer, Valley Irrigation
Nick Emanuel | CropMetrics™

For general VRI inquiries, please contact us at ValleyVRI@valmont.com or +1-402-359-6062.