45 Pivots and GPS Technology in France | by Fleur Martin of Irrigazette International

This article was reprinted with permission from the March/April issue of Irrigazette International.

Situated on the boundary of the Landes and Gironde departments, near Sanguinet [in France], Mr. Thierry Nérault’s farm covers an area of 1,460 ha. Mr.  Nérault grows maize under a monoculture system, entirely irrigated by 45 pivots and linear move machines, which are fully automated. 

We traveled to the site with Armel Morlet from the company Valmont_®  Irrigation. The pivot located in the middle is covered in rust: “The water in this part of the Landes has a high iron content, which gives the pivots a rusty colour, particularly when the sprinklers are located above the spans,” he explained. 

The pivot is fitted with two control panels: one old panel, which is no longer operational, and a brand new Valley_® GPS Ready control panel: “Since automating the installation the different makes of old panels have been replaced with Valley control panels,” he said. The position of the machines, in most cases, is pinpointed by a GPS device installed in each machine (pivots and linear move machines). 

We returned to the car and drove on to a second site, to a smaller-sized field. At this location, the field is irrigated by one large single Otech pivot with 13 spans. We could see a Valley GPS Ready control panel and an antenna on the pivot, which sends information about the pivot to the farm, by radio. We returned once again to the car and this time we drove on to a circular 98-hectare field irrigated by a single Valley PolySpan^®  pivot of 10 spans. This pivot has a tank, which itself is supplied by six or seven small pumps. The building located near the tank acts as a control room for managing all the pumps used to fill the tank/reserve, as well as the supply pump. 

This type of installation with a tank can be used with all the large pivots on the farm. As far as the small pivots are concerned, they are directly supplied by the borehole pumps. The choice of the Landes region for growing maize, which requires a lot of water, does not pose any great risk; in fact, there is an abundance of water resources. Below the sandy soils of the Landes region there is a plio-quaternary aquifer, with a high iron content, which allows the farmers to have permanent access to a plentiful supply of water.

45 pivots Linked to the Farm by Radio
We then went to the farmhouse where we were met by the owner’s son, Romain Nérault, as well as his assistant, Eric Gilbert. Originally, this was divided into two farms, the Lucate and Courlouze properties, which explains its present size of 1,460 hectares. 

From left, Romain Nérault, Armel Morlet and Eric Gilbert

Romain Nérault explained: “When my father bought the property three years ago, it was already a maize-only farm, equipped with poorly maintained pivots with the control boxes in a pitiful state.” 

The person responsible for operating the irrigation system would have to arrive at 6 a.m. and he would have to go around the farm and check that the pivots were working properly, one by one. He had to go around the farm three times each day, the last visit being at 8 o’clock in the evening, knowing that he would have to travel 7 kilometres from one end of the farm to the other. The time spent going to and fro was considerable, but essential nonetheless because in the summer the maize simply had to be irrigated. 

“One week without irrigation represented a loss of 10 or 15 quintals of maize," Romain Nérault lamented, “So when we took over the farm, we had the irrigation installation fully automated so that we could visually and constantly check the situation of all the pivots on the screen.”

The installation now has a total of 45 pivots, of which 10 or so are Valley machines, as well as pivots made by Otech and France Pivot. Every time that Mr. Nérault replaces a machine he chooses a Valley pivot with an inner polyethylene lining (PolySpan), to prevent the ferruginous water from corroding the spans (PolySpan is a polyethylene lining that is installed inside the span tubes, protecting them from the corrosive effects of this water with a high iron content). It is also preferable for the pivots to be fitted with sprinklers attached to downpipes to prevent the ferruginous water from wetting the spans, thus protecting them from outer corrosion. 

Of the 45 pivots, six are actually linear move machines. Unlike the pivots, which irrigate in a circular form around a central pivot point, the linear moves irrigate in line, moving up and down the field; these being used on the ire-breaks. The installation also has two hose reels, which allow for the field to be irrigated crosswise. 

The pivot can be set in motion from a standard computer
or a mobile computer system,
and it is possible take action remotely.

Furthermore, 10 or so hectares are irrigated with full cover (sprinkler) systems. This technique allows for the irrigation of the zones that the pivots cannot manage to reach; in fact, with the pivots irrigating in a circle, there are often blind spots, which are not irrigated. Finally, a small “L-shaped” field is irrigated with subsurface drip irrigation. “This is a kind of test”, explained Romain. “In fact, certain complex fields are difficult to irrigate with pivots or linear moves. The aim is also to reduce the amount of water applied per hectare and the consumption of KW/h per hectare.”

Romain Nérault received us in his office with his technical assistant, Eric Gilbert, so that they could tell us about the technique of controlling the pivots by remote control. The whole installation is automated using the Valley GPS Ready technology. This technology allows the user to know the position of the pivots and linear move machines on the farm at any given time. In the office the irrigation operation can be monitored on a large screen with the use of a computer.

Thus it is possible to see the whole installation displayed on the screen. “The pivots are represented by circles or arcs of a circle, and the linear moves are represented by rectangles,” explained Romain Nérault. “When the zone is shaded in grey, this means that the machine is stopped; when the zone is green, this means that the machine is functioning without water and when the pivots are blue, this means that there is water and the pivot is operating correctly. Finally, when the zone is red, this means that there is a problem and we have to step in. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to make a trip to the farm and check the pivots one by one. We only have to take any action when the pivots are broken down.”

When we click on a pivot, the control box appears on the screen, giving the pressure, position in degrees and forward speed of the pivot. The pivot can be set in motion from a standard computer or from a mobile computer system and it is possible to take action remotely.

Thus, automation has allowed this farmer to make significant savings on labor, time and money.

Read the last section of the article, How the Irrigation Season Unfolds.

Positioned to Succeed: How GPS Changed Farming as We Knew It

Originally published in Spring 2013 edition of PivotPoint.

GPS Position on Center Pivot

From tractors and combines to irrigation systems, growers are using GPS to make the most of their land and make their jobs easier and less stressful. Today, precision farming is becoming the norm.

"With precision farming, growers are optimizing row spacing, accurately applying fertilizers, crop protection products and water, and being more productive with the land available to them," says Valley Product Manager Scott Mauseth. "Farming is really evolving."

Global positioning history began on the farm in the form of auto-steer tractors, which became available in the late 1990s with the growth of the GPS network. Auto-steer provides greater accuracy for strip-till and other precise techniques. Its use helps to alleviate exhaustion of the operator, allowing better monitoring of all the equipment involved for the task at hand.

GPS helps growers make the most of their biggest asset - land

GPS makes Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) possible. VRI technology gives farmers a more precise way to apply water and other crop inputs. With tools like soil maps and yield maps, growers can prescribe where the water should be applied to maximize production and make the most efficient use of the water resources being applied.

GPS Guidance Panel

"GPS has also opened the potential to use corners and linear machines without burying wire," says Mauseth.

Global Positioning Systems allow us to get driving directions, keep track of our kids and pets, and even figure out the best fishing spots. But one of the most important and profitable ways GPS has changed the world is through farming.

By choosing the GPS Guidance option, growers can make changes in their corner path with less expense and in significantly less time. Wire placed under structures or in planted fields is no longer an issue, and growers won’t waste precious time when the wires need repair or the path of the corner needs to be changed.

Mauseth explains that since GPS was already being used in nearly every new implement on the farm, it just made sense to incorporate it into irrigation. “Valley introduced GPS Ready control panels in September of 2008 and GPS Guidance for corners and linears in 2009.”

Pat Tolman, General Manager of Valmont Northwest, a dealership located in Pasco, Washington, says, “We have growers implementing GPS Positioning tools daily. It’s a relatively small cost to install on a new or current center pivot. It’s an easy upgrade that can result in a huge payback.”

Using the same GPS base that farmers are already using for their implements makes things pretty simple. Tolman explains, “Many growers already have a base, or they’re renting space from their local dealership. It’s very easy to find a base to use."

GPS Guidance on Valley Precision Corner®

GPS Offerings from Valley

Valley utilizes two GPS choices available to growers. GPS Position with GPS Ready-Control panels utilize the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to pinpoint the position of your machine accurately. WAAS uses a network of ground-based reference stations throughout North America to measure and correct for small variations in the GPS satellites’ signals. Add-on GPS positioning packages are available for pivots and linears and require a GPS Ready control panel, like Pro2, Select2, or AutoPilot. The GPS position calculations are performed right in the control panel, a unique design feature in Valley control panels, so there is no need for an external processor.

GPS Guidance for Valley linears and corners is another Valley innovation. Growers can steer their corner or linear machines through the field utilizing GPS as the choice versus buried wire guidance. GPS Guidance allows growers to make the most of their GPS technology investment with compatibility to existing John Deere® Starfire™ or Trimble®. Navigation with these systems relies on Real Time Kinematic (RTK network) satellite navigation. RTK uses a single receiver as a base and rebroadcasts information to mobile units on the linear or corner machines. The base receiver uses measurements of the signal phases derived from the GPS satellites to gain greater accuracy.

GPS technology for center pivots, corners, and linear machines can bring a number of benefits to an operation. Growers will experience enhanced management capabilities and can take advantage of precision application techniques for water, fertilizer and crop inputs. This can lower input costs and ultimately can lead to higher yield potential – and greater profits.

Exactly how does GPS work, anyway?

The basic idea behind global positioning is triangulation, using a group of satellites to act as reference points in space. Calculations based on the known distance of the satellites above the earth and the time it takes for the signal to reach a receiver on or near the surface of the earth allow the system to accurately record the receiver’s location.

For more information on Valley GPS, contact your local Valley dealer, or post your comment below!