As growers continue to make strides in improving efficiency in their irrigation approaches, automation presents a significant opportunity. Senior Manager of the Almond Board of California’s Field Outreach & Education Team, Tom Devol said that automation is really the next step in overall irrigation efficiency. It can allow for more precise control and eliminate some of the potential for error.
“When you look at control, you’ve got to send somebody out to the field to actuate that valve. Having that be automated, that person can be off doing other things. They’re not focused on having to get back to the valve by 12:00 o’clock. So, it really helps both in just labor savings and on making your execution better,” said Devol. “The valve actuates exactly when it’s supposed to actuate, not 2 o’clock because they got busy fixing something else and didn’t get to it.”
The topic of irrigation efficiency will be highlighted during a panel discussion at The Almond Conference 2023, December 5-7 in Sacramento. The “Automation – A Key to Precision Irrigation Management” session will be taking place on Wednesday, December 6 beginning at 2:45 p.m. Devol said they will be reviewing the T-Rex project and some of the insights that have been learned. There will also be a panel discussion with four different companies that work in the irrigation space.
“We’re going to cover things like how to choose a system. Should it be wireless? Should it be wired? Really get into the nuts and bolts of it. What are the risks of doing it? How to protect yourself from deadheading a pump, things like that,” Devol explained. “So, a lot of detail and having four different companies, they all have different specialties and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be a great panel.”
More information about The Almond Conference 2023 is available at Almonds.com/Conference.
Listen to Devol’s interview below.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West