One thing I know in life is that there is no magic pill that will make it easy to do anything. There is nothing to take to make you keep your hair. Nothing to make you lose weight. Nothing to keep you from making the wrong decision. The same thing goes for field irrigation management.
If there were a magic pill, most farmers would have taken it by now (and I would be trying to sell it!). If this pill were taken, and the time had come when the producer needed to irrigate, you would see all pivots starting at exactly the same time. Everyone would have the exact same equipment (pivots, fertigation, drip, gravity, etc.). Farming life would be boring.
Thank goodness this isn’t the case.
What I do know is that there is one person that knows what’s best for your operation, and that’s you. However, the decisions you’re making and activities you’re doing right now are what will get you closer to that magic pill. Do your research. Study what products are out there. Here is a short list of what field irrigation management solutions are available to you today to help you make the best decisions possible for your operation.
Irrigation Pump Control
As with all your farm equipment, your irrigation pumps need regular attention. Solutions like Valley Pump Connect and variable frequency drives (VFDs) can help you monitor and manage your irrigation pump control. You can expect some of these benefits when you consider your pumps just a bit more:
- Save money
- Conserve resources
- Easy installation
- Remote monitoring capabilities
Soil Moisture Monitoring
A variety of soil probes are available to help you monitor your soil’s moisture levels, which in turn helps you decide when and how much to irrigate. If you are unsure where to start with a soil probe, give your local irrigation equipment dealer a call, or hit up your agronomist for recommendations.
Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI)
The need for uniform and accurate water delivery to your crop throughout its life cycle is essential to maximizing yield and maintaining the health of the plant. Using VRI as part of your field irrigation strategy can help you achieve this, as well as help you manage your water and input costs through very site-specific watering.
Remote Irrigation Management
Valley’s BaseStation3 and AgSense are two impressive 
products that give you back so much time. Imagine being able to monitor and control your center pivots from your kitchen. Or from the movie theater. Or from your vacation home in Greenland. Guess what? You can already do this with a remote irrigation management tool. Pretty cool, huh?
With any management solution you use, you still have to base your decisions on your needs and experiences. Those are what will get you closer to that magic pill.
Source: Valley Irrigation