August 24, 2018
CapitalPress.com
9
Irrigation innovations abound to increase productivity
By DIANNA TROYER
For the Capital Press
At 2:30 a.m., an irrigation
software alarm beeped on
Kelly Mangum’s smart phone
at his bedside, alerting him to
a problem.
“We had a power outage
that affected the pump on one
of our pivots,” said Mang-
um, co-manager of Mark
Darrington Farm and Marsh
Creek Farms near Declo, Ida-
ho.
“I drove out and took care
of it,” he said. “Nothing melt-
ed or burned up. This is our
third season to use the soft-
ware, and it has reduced our
workload and improved effi-
ciency incredibly.”
The farms’ 12 pivots were
retrofitted with control mod-
ules containing a software
program.
“It’s a beautiful thing, like
having eyes in the field with-
out having to drive there,” he
said. “We save so much time
and have reduced wear on ve-
hicles. We don’t have to drive
through a field to check the
pivots, so we’re not ruining
part of a crop.”
Wherever he is, Mang-
um can monitor irrigation on
fields of potatoes, wheat, bar-
ley, corn, hay and sugar beets.
With a swipe of his finger on
his phone screen, he can stop
and start a pivot and control
flow rates.
“If it’s going to be 100 de-
grees, I can put more water
down. If a crop is ready for
harvest, I can turn it off.”
The system prevents part
of a crop from being damaged
when a problem occurs.
“What if a pivot gets stuck
in a spot? Before, the crop in
that section of a field might
have been overwatered and
ruined, and you’d have lost
revenue. With this program,
Dianna Troyer/For the Capital Press
While working at the farm shop,
Mangum checks on pivots from
his phone. Mangum says the
software saves time and wear on
vehicles at the farms he co-man-
ages in southeastern Idaho.
University of Idaho
Lowering the sprinklers closer to the crop canopy reduces water loss to wind drift.
Kelly Mangum
we know the second a prob-
lem happens and what it
might be, whether a gear box
or a tire.”
Along with the software,
the farms’ first variable fre-
quency drive pump was in-
stalled three years ago.
“We decided to switch
over because in one area
we’re pumping water more
than 3 miles from a creek,
feeding a system of five piv-
ots and six pumps. There are
so many variables, and the
pump automatically adjusts to
those.”
Mangum said farmers are
working in an era of ingenuity
with software written to deal
with just about anything.
“The innovations in irriga-
tion software have been dra-
matic,” he said.
Innovations abound
During the past few years,
innovative approaches to ir-
rigation “have been the most
fascinating and productive
I’ve seen since I started my
research in Idaho 26 years
ago,” said Howard Neibling,
water management engineer
at the University of Idaho’s
Kimberly Research and Ex-
tension Center.
To select the best irrigation
system, he advised farmers
to analyze many factors: cost
versus benefit, water sources,
and the soil types and topog-
raphy in fields.
He described several inno-
vations.
LESA: LESA is an ac-
ronym for Low Elevation
Sprinkler Application. Noz-
zle heads are lowered to just
above a crop canopy or slight-
ly into it.
“You’re reducing the need
for pumping 15 to 20 percent
because you’re not losing wa-
ter to wind drift,” he said.
Nozzle control: Variable
rate irrigation control soft-
ware will shut off water at
nozzles at certain points in a
field.
“If you have a big rock
pile in one part of your field,
you don’t want to waste wa-
ter there or grow weeds. It’s
effective, too, if you have
different soil types in a field
that require different amounts
of water. If part of a field has
runoff or seepage, you can re-
duce water application there.”
Mobile drip irrigation: In-
stead of sprinklers, drip tubes
are used.
“The length of a tube var-
ies outward along the pivot. It
might be 3 feet near the pivot
point and 100 feet at the out-
er end. The benefit is an ex-
tremely high efficiency. How-
ever, if you’re using surface
water and have to filter it, it
may be cost prohibitive.”
Soil moisture sensors:
After inserting soil moisture
sensors in a field, farmers can
check data from a smart phone
to decide irrigation needs.
“I like to dig a hole and
push them in sideways at dif-
ferent depths in undisturbed
soil,” he said.
Free web-based irrigation
scheduling: Neibling said
Troy Peters, a colleague at
Washington State University,
developed a free app, Irriga-
tion Scheduler Mobile, avail-
able for Android or iPhone at
http://weather.wsu.edu/is.
“This app uses local
AgriMet weather and crop
water use information to
provide a running estimate
of soil water content and de-
gree of plant water stress,” he
said.
Neibling said with all the
innovative irrigation options
available, “it comes down to a
cost-benefit analysis and what
systems will best meet your
needs.”
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