October 6, 2017
CapitalPress.com
5
Irrigation systems need attention each fall
By BRENNA WIEGAND
For the Capital Press
Stettler Supply has been
doing irrigation since the
Stettler brothers returned
to Salem, Ore., from World
War II in 1948.
Still locally owned, Stet-
tler Supply designs, con-
structs, repairs and sells
irrigation systems and their
components.
“We are a Reinke dealer
and sell a lot of overhead
traveling systems — center
pivots and linear sprinklers,”
General Manager Trevor
Spires said. “Other types of
systems include self-pow-
ered aluminum wheel lines
and drip irrigation.”
In sandier soils drip tape
may be buried underground
alongside row crops when
they’re planted and replaced
the next planting season.
Above-ground drip irriga-
tion is for permanent crops
such as hazelnuts and blue-
berries. Both drip systems
Brenna Wiegand/Capital Press allow emitters to be placed
Trevor Spires of Stettler Supply with a Reinke center pivot irrigation at the desired locations for a
specific application.
system. The automated system moves on its own, decreasing
Whatever the type, as fall
labor costs.
and winter approach it is im-
perative to drain and flush
the system so lines and fil-
ters don’t freeze.
This is best accom-
plished before the rain sets
in and access to the fields
becomes more difficult. In
the spring, flush systems
to clear out sand and other
particulates that can plug
emitters.
Farmers are always look-
ing for ways to be more effi-
cient with water and energy.
Radio monitoring and
control of pumps, valves and
automated timers save on la-
bor, or farmers can control
things from a cell phone.
Field weather stations can
also measure moisture in the
soil and make real-time ad-
justments to irrigation.
In addition, drones and
satellite imagery provide ae-
rial photos that show areas
being missed by irrigation
and detect other issues.
Greater mechanization
is a common theme in the
ag community to reduce
the associated costs and not
be subject to the scarcity of
workers.
“We feel the effects in our
construction projects when
we’re trying to find qualified
labor; on the farm, they’re
having a hard time harvest-
ing crops,” Spires said. “We
have one customer who is
moving away from alumi-
num handline irrigation to a
traveling system because he
can’t find labor to move the
irrigation pipes.
“It’s a job I did in high
school but nobody wants to
do that anymore; moving
through a corn patch, water
dripping on your head and
the corn cutting your arms.”
Now he’s using GPS sur-
vey equipment to map out
fields, row spacing, crop
spacing and other factors as
Stettler Supply works with
customers in designing the
right system for them.
“Farmers are incredi-
bly smart, resourceful peo-
ple,” Spires said. “They
know their crops and their
soil and their objectives
better than anybody and
they all do things a little
differently.
“It’s ingenious the tools
and equipment they invent
to do things the way they
want,” Spires said. “We
carry 800,000 pieces in our
store but it is still difficult to
stock everything that every-
body might want. There’s a
sense of urgency in farming
I don’t have in other indus-
tries.”
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