This article appears in the January 2017 issue of Potato Grower.
Valley Irrigation introduced its new ICON series of smart control panels at a media event Nov. 15, touting them as an intuitive solution for growers with varying needs in different growing regions. Valley employees, as well as a panel of growers and dealers, fielded dozens of questions from industry media regarding the ICON panels.
“We make a wonderful, high-quality machine,” Valley president Len Adams said at the media event. “But an interesting part of this business right now is, the machine is not what people want to talk about. They want to talk about the cell phones, the apps and the technology. We want to take an industry full of data but full of very little information, and make it usable information. We’ve spent a lot of time meeting with growers and customers, getting their input of what should be done. The ICON panels are our response to that dialogue.”
The ICON family is made up of four new panels: the ICON10, ICONX, ICON5 and ICON1. Each comes standard with AgSense technology, which provides interface and access to real-time data from any device, anywhere in the world. Valley designed the ICON panels with the goal of being able to install on any pivot irrigation system in North America, regardless of equipment age or brand.