Throughout 2021, as part of Potato Grower’s celebration of our 50th year in publication, we will be honoring in our pages and on our website 50 of the potato industry’s most innovative and influential individuals, companies and organizations over the past half-century. This “50 for 50” series will include researchers, salesmen, packers, processors and, of course, plenty of potato growers. A lot of them will be names you’ve heard before. To some, you’ll get a fresh introduction. Regardless, each has had an outsize impact on the U.S. potato industry, and each deserves our thanks and recognition. To view the full roster of “50 for 50” honorees, click here.
For more than 50 years, Lindsay has been a pioneer provider of irrigation and water management solutions. From the strength and durability of Zimmatic pivot systems to the intelligence and advanced technology of FieldNET, the full portfolio of industry-leading products and services helps conserve resources, increase yields and benefis growers worldwide.
In 1955, Lindsay founder Paul Zimmerer, began a farm equipment business in Lindsay, Neb., with the first successful irrigation towline for rough field terrain. In the 1960s, Paul’s sons, Art and Bernard, designed and built the first Zimmatic brand center pivot, which officially went to work in 1969. Unlike other pivots at the time, it was an electric-drive system specifically designed to negotiate hilly terrain—earning it the nickname the “hill climber.”
Today, Zimmatic systems irrigate millions of acres on six continents. Many of the original center pivot systems are still in operation—proof of their durable, quality construction and intelligent design.
Lindsay has a goal to help growers save more than 700 billion gallons of water and more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours of energy by the year 2022 by equipping them with tools, data and insights to run their irrigation systems with precision to conserve resources. This is all made possible with FieldNET. Launched in 2006, FieldNET is the award-winning industry leader in complete remote management of irrigation systems. It gives growers the ability to view and control their irrigation systems from the palms of their hands, from anywhere, at any time.
FieldNET Advisor, the world’s first fully automated, cloud-based irrigation scheduling solution, launched in 2017. With this award-winning solution, growers receive continuously updated, field-specific irrigation recommendations, so they know precisely when, where and how much to irrigate.
In 2020, Lindsay introduced the world’s first smart pivot. This is an industry first that combines agronomic capabilities with state-of-the-art machine health features to provide real-time, 360-degree crop health and operational data throughout the growing season. The smart pivot will help growers make the most of limited resources and help sustain their operations for generations to come.
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