This year’s irrigation season is ending for many farmers across the western hemisphere. Several are already out in their combines, and reaping the fruits of their labor.

There are a number of tools you need to keep your center pivot irrigation system operating properly. Sometimes, the most valuable tools are not the ones in your toolbox. Software solutions, like Valley_® BaseStation3™ can be just as valuable of a tool as your favorite pair of pliers.

The original AgSense hardware and software was primarily for simple remote pivot irrigation monitoring with very little pivot control available. In the last five years, it has evolved into a far more comprehensive remote farm management system. The grower can now, in many cases, monitor and control up to 100% of their irrigation equipment and functions remotely from a computer or smart phone. They can also control additional applications around the farm such as soil moisture, grain temperature, and interactive load demand management with participating power companies.

July is Smart Irrigation Month and our friends at Valley® Irrigation are making sure they use water wisely every month of the year. From irrigating efficiently with variable rate irrigation (VRI) to ensuring consistency with precision corner irrigation technology, Valley is leading the way with water conservation efforts.

A new competition is being played in fields across Nebraska where growers take on University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists and students to see who can out-farm the other. This competition is called Testing Ag Performance Solutions, or TAPS. 

As you fly across the country (or anywhere in the world) and see the perfect green circles covering the ground, it is easy to pick out the fields with center pivot irrigation. Looking closely, you may see a field that isn’t a perfect green circle, but is in fact almost square. This indicates a center pivot with a corner arm.

Are you looking for ways to increase yields and improve your irrigation efficiency? Try these tips for better pivot operation.

There are a lot of factors to consider when converting to a different form of irrigation. What type of irrigation should you switch to? What changes will need to be made to your management? How do you make this transition as easy as possible?

Over the past few years, we have seen more and more people adopt home and personal automation tools; these have simply become a way of life. Google, Amazon and Nest, among others, have taken the automation market by storm and have created a demand for connecting people to the internet beyond just using a personal computer. People are using this Internet of Things (more commonly known as IoT) concept to live their lives more efficiently; they keep going back to the internet and back to the Cloud.

If the agriculture industry could be described in one word, the most fitting word would be innovation. The ag industry is constantly discovering new ways to produce a safe and abundant food supply for an increasing population.