Technology and Surface Water Applications | by Tyler Fields

There are places in the country where it is not feasible to drill wells for irrigation, yet these areas have plenty of surface water to use, coincidence? I think not.

The problem with surface water is that it comes in late fall through early spring, while the crop needs water in the summer. Want to solve that problem? Build a reservoir, pump into the reservoir when the water is flowing, and then pump out of the reservoir to a majestic Valley_® center pivot!

Valley Water Management (VWM) specializes in working with farmers to collect surface water runoff from their farms, pumping it into a reservoir and then using it for the irrigation season.

Maybe you’ve thought about building a reservoir and lost interest because there is so much involved in that type of project. VWM can take on that burden for you. We can design the entire project, work with your local dealer, and even provide construction management and inspections. You can move onto other projects around the farm and leave the managing to us.

Building a reservoir is an added cost, but it allows irrigation to be installed in a place that hasn’t had irrigation before. And, pumping surface water reduces the demand on your pumps. Less horsepower is required because the pumps aren’t pumping from hundreds of feet below ground. Less horsepower means less energy cost, which equals to cash savings at the end of the year.

Those savings correlate to what we strive to accomplish on every project, do more with less.

Another great feature of surface water to reservoir pumping is that it can be automated based on creek or river level to pump as much water as possible without drastically dropping the water level. The automation is user configurable for different set points to ensure the water level will be sustained, while still pumping as much water as possible to fill the reservoir.

The automation allows you to live your life, whether you’re coaching your kid’s T-ball game or taking a Sunday afternoon nap, and not worry about turning pumps on or off. This option has proven to be cost-effective and optimal where ground water is not available or is too expensive.

Not all areas are ideal for surface water application, but VWM can evaluate your farm and the feasibility of building such a project. Contact your local Valley dealer and ask for VWM’s expert advice to see if the project is a fit for you!

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R. Tyler Fields Agricultural Engineer Tyler, an agricultural engineer specializing in land and water resources, joined Valley Water Management in April 2013. He had worked in the Valley network for many years, enabling him to work closely with the agricultural irrigation community in assessing the needs of the farm and other Ag industries. Tyler grew up on a dairy farm in south Florida and also has been involved in the daily operations of ranches and row crop farms. Working for VWM allows him to pair his education and his love for agriculture.

Small Potatoes from Field to Fork | by Shannon Peterson

I recently traveled to California for the grand opening of the new Tasteful Selections facility in Arvin, Calif. You know Tasteful Selections – the little potatoes that come in different sizes and colors, taste great and are easy to prepare?

This new 200,000-square-foot facility is completely dedicated to baby potatoes grown in Washington, Arizona, Nevada and California. The potatoes are sorted by size and color – 41 different combinations that include seven sizes, four colors (red, yellow, purple and white) and a variety of fingerlings. These fragile baby potatoes are handled gently and treated with care as they are sorted, cooled, washed and stored. The state-of-the-art facility was carefully designed to allow for expansion, which appears to be inevitable.

At a time when U.S. potato consumption has been decreasing – annual consumption of potatoes fell by nearly 25 percent since peaking in 1996 – yet the baby potato market grew from 3 percent of the market in 2010 to 10 percent today. Consumers love the unique flavor and the quick, convenient cooking methods, according to Nathan Bender, plant manager for Tasteful Selections.

I could go on and on with facts and figures – the energy efficiency of the plant, the intense level of quality control, the number of retail stores offering Tasteful Selections – but what makes this plant particularly special to the Valley_® family was our integral partnership on all levels of the project.

Cascade Earth Sciences, a Valmont_® company, served as an umbrella coordinator for the project, including coordination of water and environmental permitting for the plant.

Valley Water Management designed the water supply plan that redistributes used water into the washing process or onto in nearby farmland, and installed the pumps, Variable Frequency Drives and related equipment in multiple fields. The team also provided soil science and field mapping for the potato fields.

Rick Grimes at Southwest Irrigation, of Casa Grande, Ariz., designed the new irrigation delivery method for 1,500 acres of land that will eventually include seven Valley Linears. The land and linears will be used by Tasteful Selections for potato products and another company for crop rotation.

Valley is proud of playing an integral role in bringing Tasteful Selections potatoes from the field to your fork. Enjoy!

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Shannon Peterson Marketing Content Editor Shannon joined Valley Irrigation in 2013. She writes and edits materials about irrigation equipment. Shannon enjoys traveling with her family, particularly to national parks, and she occasionally writes about her travels for tourism magazines. She also likes trying new restaurants, seeing movies, and watching Husker football and Creighton basketball.

How Maintaining Constant Pressure on Your Pivot Can Save You 35 to 40 Percent in Pumping Costs | by Jonny Branom

Growers that use corner machines or have some elevation changes in their field know that there can be a big variance in pressure at the end of their pivot. In a typical corner machine, the difference in pressure can be as much as 35 to 40 PSI between when the corner is extended or retracted.

With a Valley Drive Connect^® and a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) in your installation, you can maintain a constant pressure at the end of your pivot regardless of the elevation differences you may have, or the position of the corner machine if you use one.

Valley Drive Connect mounts on the end of your pivot and uses a pressure transmitter to measure pressure. The pressure feedback is then sent back to your VFD wirelessly, to adjust your pump speed to maintain constant pressure.

By only supplying your pivot the pressure it needs to operate correctly, you can save up to 40 percent in pumping costs, eliminate pressure spikes, prolong sprinkler regulator life and help prevent pipeline blow outs. Valley Drive Connect can also be used in conjunction with Valley Pump Connect^®. Now you can have pressure feedback from the end of your machine and on/off control from your pivot point, all wirelessly back to your VFD.

Valley Water Management and your local Valley dealer are committed to bringing you the very latest in money-saving pumping technologies. For more information, please contact your local Valley dealer.

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Jonny Branom Project Sales Manager – Valley Water Management Jonny joined Valley Water Management in 2013 as the Western project sales manager. He has more 15 years of experience in industrial automation, instrumentation, wireless controls and VFDs. Jonny has been working with Valley dealers for many years solving control and pumping needs. He lives with his wife, Tammy, and two children in Spokane, WA, and enjoys many outdoor activities around the Inland Northwest.

Growers Power Up Energy and Savings

If you’re a trend watcher, then you know that trends tend to travel from east to west. With variable frequency drives, it’s the other way around. And what an energy-conserving, money-saving trend it is!

As the name indicates, a variable frequency drive (VFD) allows the motor speed to change as water pressure needs vary. According to Tyler Fields, Valley_® Water Management product sales manager, VFDs have been used pretty heavily in the hills of the West and Northwest United States for quite some time.

“That’s where growers really needed consistent water pressure, and they quickly saw the benefits of power savings, too,” he says. “Now, we’re offering an additional money-saver, Drive Connect™. It communicates from the end of the pivot to the pump, so the VFD can maintain pressure at the end of the pivot.”

Ryan Christensen can attest to that. Though he’s been using variable frequency drives for just a couple of years in Washington, where he grows alfalfa, timothy, hay, wheat, corn, beans, and cherries, he already has six VFDs. Four of those have Drive Connect.

“The first one I bought sold me on the value of VFDs,” says Christensen. “I have a pivot that’s on a very steep elevation – the end of the pivot goes from way uphill to way downhill, so knowing what the pressure is at the end of that pivot makes a real difference.

“I switched from a 100 horsepower pump that ran all the time to a 50 horsepower that runs at half speed about half the time. So not only are my crops getting watered evenly now, but my power savings should be phenomenal on that one pump alone.”

Power conservation is a big factor when it comes to VFDs, according to Lad Irrigation Sales Manager Doug Muscott.

“Power providers in Washington are very interested in variable frequency drives,” Muscott says. “They help offset the capital cost for the irrigator, while conserving power. Basically, from the power company’s point of view, using a VFD allows more people to have more power available to them. It’s great green technology.”

Christensen says power incentives really help offset the cost of installing VFDs too.

In Alabama, Lee Sublett is pretty new to VFDs. He has two separate pump stations with VFDs. One is on a creek and fills his reservoir. The other floats in a reservoir and supplies six pivots.

Sublett, a customer with New Market Agricultural Equipment in New Market, Ala., says it takes $2,500 worth of electricity to fill the reservoir, which holds 200 acre-feet. That’s enough water capacity to supply 6 inches of water per acre on 400 irrigated acres.

“I can honestly say that this particular situation would not work with anything other than an electric VFD,” says Sublett. “When the reservoir is full, the pump floats on about 25 feet of water, about 65 feet out.

“It works perfectly. Powering it on and off is as easy as using a light switch. The motor builds up slowly to a preset pressure and then shuts down slowly, too. Also, I can shut down one or two – maybe even more – of my irrigation machines on the pump, and the VFD will adjust and slow itself down to adjust the pressure to those preset settings. The options are practically endless.”

“I really prefer the electric motor, and I love my VFD,” adds Sublett. “My next project will definitely include both.”

Reprinted from Valley PivotPoint magazine, Winter 2014

The Future of Agriculture at the Sunbelt Ag Expo | by Tyler Fields

Tyler with his nephew,
the "future" of ag, at Sunbelt Ag Expo.

It was just another day in paradise! That was the outlook at the Sunbelt Ag Expo this past October in south Georgia, which some (myself that is) would even say God’s country!
I love the time of year when I see young kids and older adults walking around looking at the future of agriculture. Future isn’t just the new equipment and new technology, but it is also the young kids that are growing up and learning to live that demanding life in agriculture. 

Valley Water Management (VWM) uses new, cutting-edge technology to bring sustainability to your farm. Through our Variable Frequency Drives, custom telemetry and custom-engineered pump stations we are “Conserving Resources. Improving Life.” Think about that! I believe it means that in order for farms to grow and succeed for the younger generations, we need to use less to do more.

As you go throughout your day and the rest of the year, remember that VWM can integrate multiple systems on your farm to make your work less demanding and give you more time to spend with the younger “future” generation. Contact your local Valley Dealer with additional questions.

Meanwhile, I would like to wish you and your “futures” a Happy Thanksgiving!

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R. Tyler Fields Agricultural Engineer Tyler, an agricultural engineer specializing in land and water resources, joined Valley Water Management in April 2013. He had worked in the Valley network for many years, enabling him to work closely with the agricultural irrigation community in assessing the needs of the farm and other Ag industries. Tyler grew up on a dairy farm in south Florida and also has been involved in the daily operations of ranches and row crop farms. Working for VWM allows him to pair his education and his love for agriculture.

Save Energy and Money With Variable Frequency Drives | by Wade Sikkink

When growers look to invest in new products or technology for their farming operation, they generally expect to get one of two things out of the investment. It will either increase their output (yield) or it will reduce their operating costs. Either one is a good thing. When growers invest in irrigation equipment they tend to be focused on the yield side of the equation. Adding center pivot irrigation will give a grower higher, more reliable yields, and he can expect that equipment to pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time.

However, irrigation is not just about increasing yield. The equipment and pumping stations have operational costs, so growers also look for ways to reduce those costs. A great way to do that is by using Variable Frequency Drives on your electric pumps. A Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) is an electronic device that can change the frequency of the supplied power to a pump or other electric motor. This means that the pump doesn’t always have to operate at the same speed, but can operate at different speeds depending on demand. 

Let me use an example to illustrate. Corner machines are a great way to add additional irrigated acres to your investment in a center pivot. A typical corner machine on a quarter-mile pivot can pick up as much as 25 acres. However, corner machines can have a big effect on your pumping system. The difference in flow between when the corner machine is extended vs. retracted can be 35 percent or more. That’s significant! If your pump only operates at one speed, and is sized correctly to provide the right amount of water when the corner machine is extended, then it’s going too fast and providing more pressure and flow than necessary when the corner machine is retracted. The bottom line is the pump is using more energy than necessary, increasing your operating costs.

Here’s where the VFD comes in. If there is a VFD controlling the pump, it can reduce the speed of the pump as the corner machine retracts and continue to provide only the needed pressure and flow. The pump is then running at a slower speed and using less energy; therefore, saving money!

The corner machine example I used above strongly illustrates the benefit of using a VFD for your pumping system, but there are many other applications that can benefit just as much from a VFD, including rolling terrain, Benders, VRI, multiple pivots on a single pump, etc.

Valley_® Water Management is focused on designing and building the best possible pumping solutions for growers. We have partnered with Yaskawa™ Electric America to make Yaskawa VFDs available on our custom-engineered pump stations, which are available to Valley dealers for all their pumping applications. Yaskawa is the leader in VFD technology for agriculture applications and its VFD software includes the most control and protection features available on the market today.

In a future post, I’ll tell you about another new product from Valley Water Management called Drive Connect.

To learn more about Valley Water Management VFDs, visit our website.

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Wade Sikkink Director - Valley Water Management Wade joined Valley Irrigation in 2008 as a Product Manager. He has spent a lot of time in the field working with dealers and growers on developing new products. In 2012, Wade changed roles to lead a new division within Valley Irrigation focused on pumping systems for center pivots called Valley Water Management.  When he’s not working, Wade enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with his wife and three children on their acreage in rural Nebraska.

A Winning Formula from Valley Water Management | by Tyler Fields

With inflation on the rise and increased power costs, efficiency in pumping applications has reached critical mass. When it comes to the engineering and design of pump stations, Valley_® Water Management has produced a winning formula. Our mission is not only to serve our dealers and customers, but also to always seek and implement the most efficient pumping solutions possible. 

It’s not uncommon for us to completely redesign a project just for cost comparison with an end game of keeping that dollar in your pocket. How does that work? We can save hundreds of horsepower through the use of booster stations, if applicable, which could save thousands of dollars per year.

Another huge money saver is a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). VFDs are used in aiding the startup of large pumps, which can eliminate demand charges (based on your local power company). The use of VFDs greatly increases the life of your pump motor through a patented “slow start,” as well as byu maintaining pressure instead of wasting it.

Another great tool is Pump Connect™, a product that provides a secure back-up plan when you’re not around. It simply mounts on your center pivot/linear and connects to your pump, enabling it to shut down your pump if the pivot safeties out or is shut off remotely. This one tool saves power, water, and prevents your field from flooding.

VWM is here to help you in your custom applications. Contact your local Valley dealer and get your farm in on a winning formula today!

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R. Tyler Fields Agricultural Engineer Tyler, an agricultural engineer specializing in land and water resources, joined Valley Water Management in April 2013. He had worked in the Valley network for many years, enabling him to work closely with the agricultural irrigation community in assessing the needs of the farm and other Ag industries. Tyler grew up on a dairy farm in south Florida and also has been involved in the daily operations of ranches and row crop farms. Working for VWM allows him to pair his education and his love for agriculture.

Pump Connect Simplifies Pivot Operation | by Wade Sikkink

New technology and improved farm equipment would seem to have made a farmer’s job easier, but the reality is that it’s just changed what farmers have to do. Farming is still a hard job. There are so many things vying for a farmer’s time that he needs to use these new technology products just to keep up.

Because fewer and fewer growers are farming more and more acres, today’s farmer has to become an expert not only in his crops, but in the technology and automation necessary to make a modern farm successful.

For example, a typical farmer today could be farming 2,000 acres essentially by himself. If his farm is irrigated, that means he’s keeping track of 12 to 15 center pivots and the pumps that supply those pivots. If those pivots and pumps are checked a couple times a day, that could be more than 50 separate stops during the farmer’s day. Yikes! Automating some of that work can make a huge difference in the amount of time a farmer has available in any given day.

Pump Connect

Valley_® Irrigation has been a leader in remote control and monitoring of center pivot irrigation equipment for decades. With products like Valley Basestation and TrackNet™, farmers can fully control and monitor their pivots remotely. Now, Valley Water Management is introducing Pump Connect™ to automate the operation of pumps supplying center pivots and other irrigation equipment.

Pump Connect is radio system that wirelessly connects a center pivot control panel to a pump control panel. When installed, Pump Connect will remotely start a pump when the center pivot calls for water. Now, all a grower has to do is go to his pivot , start the machine with “Water On,” and the pump will start automatically, saving the grower a trip to the pump site. If the pivot shuts off for any reason, such as “Stop-in-Slot” or a safety shutdown, the pump will stop automatically.

Here’s an experience a grower in Georgia recently had with Pump Connect. The grower stopped by the field to check his pivot, which was running fine. Twelve hours later, he stopped by again and the machine was stopped. About an hour after his first stop, one of the towers had gotten stuck in a wheel rut and the machine shut down. Pump Connect shut off the well when the pivot shut down. The grower was quick to point out that without Pump Connect, the well would have continued to run for the next 10 hours with the pivot not moving, making a huge mess!

Pump Connect is available for a variety of pivot/pump combinations. Not only can you wirelessly connect one pivot to one pump, but with the Multi versions of the product, you can connect a single well to multiple pivots, or multiple wells to a single pivot. In Texas, we have farmers using Pump Connect to control multiple wells pumps that feed a ditch to supply a linear. Pump Connect also can be used on engine-driven pumps to shut the pump down when the pivot shuts down.

Farmers today are as busy as ever, even with the advent of new time-saving technology. Pump Connect gives growers an easy, affordable way to automate the operation of the pumps that supply their pivots and provide them with peace of mind when the pivot shuts down. 

For more information on the new Pump Connect from Valley Water Management, contact your local Valley dealer, or visit www.valleyirrigation.com/PumpConnect.

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Wade Sikkink Director - Valley Water Management Wade joined Valley Irrigation in 2008 as a Product Manager. He has spent a lot of time in the field working with dealers and growers on developing new products. In 2012, Wade changed roles to lead a new division within Valley Irrigation focused on pumping systems for center pivots called Valley Water Management.  When he’s not working, Wade enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time with his wife and three children on their acreage in rural Nebraska.