Valmont Irrigation recently announced a new agreement with Computronics Holdings Ltd., manufacturer of the patented Farmscan variable rate irrigation technology.
This agreement allows for the development and distribution of variable rate irrigation controls through over 460 Valley dealers worldwide, thus providing the latest technology in precision irrigation with center pivots.
“Computronics Holdings Ltd. has an impressive history with variable rate irrigation controls,” said Jake LaRue, Valley Product Manager.
“Now this agreement between Valmont Irrigation and Computronics Holdings Ltd. will provide increased distribution through the Valley dealer network and allow Valley to use its own patented and proprietary technology to further enhance the capabilities of future variable rate irrigation products.”
Producers with pivot irrigation have always been able to control how much water is applied to a field. This variable rate irrigation technology however allows producers to control how much water, fertiliser, and other crop management products are applied to areas as small as one square meter.
One key benefit of the variable rate irrigation controls is that producers can program the pivot to automatically turn water on and off for different zones within a circle.
For example, with variable rate irrigation, producers can make sure the pivot automatically shuts off different zones as it goes over a drainage ditch, and automatically turns back on when it reaches the crop, thus saving water.
A second key benefit of variable rate irrigation is that it allows producers to apply different amounts of water and crop inputs on a site-specific basis.
Not all sections of a field have the same soil. Some soil types in a field may have different water and fertilizer needs than the rest of the field. Without variable rate irrigation, a producer might apply water and other inputs to maximize yield on one type of soil, which ultimately compromises yield on any other soil type in the same field.
With variable rate irrigation, a producer can program irrigation areas as small as one square meter, thereby maximizing yields on all soil types within the same field.
Further to this, not only do the different soil types require varying amounts of water and fertilizer, but so do different seed populations. Producers are increasingly incorporating variable rate planting into their regimes. This means there can be multiple types of seed and population within the same field, all with different water and nutrient requirements. Variable rate irrigation allows producers to match the water and fertilizer application with varying soil and seed within the same field.
Farmscan variable rate irrigation products are compatible with all Valley control panels.