AG TECH NO LOG IE S
FALL 2014
PRECISION AG U PDATE AgView Helping Farmers Get Feet Wet with Remote Irrigation By Allison Floyd
By and large, farmers are a conservative bunch. Most of them like to watch how new technology works for a few years before they make a leap. Still, most producers are all about efficiency and will adopt just about any practice that makes for a better yield and saves cost. Ag Technologies’ newest product, AgView Irrigate, is giving those farmers a new option to control their pivots remotely, a system that lets them try out the freedom and efficiency of new technology without replacing otherwise working equipment. “The biggest advantage is that customers can utilize the equipment that they have; they don’t have to replace equipment,” said Travis Kelley, the company’s executive vice president of technology. AgView Irrigate can monitor and control a center-pivot irrigation system – whether it’s Valley, Zimmatic or Reinke – using the existing hardware and panel. As with other systems, the farmer can log in from his smart phone, tablet or laptop to turn on his irrigation equipment or check on the progress of the irrigation. With AgView, a farmer can turn equipment on and off, get a warning if the system encounters any trouble and even get a text when the cycle is complete. He can collect information that he may have missed before about how the pivot is running. “We’ve got a lot of customers who are farming land that spans multiple areas and they are just tired of driving around,” Kelley said. In other cases, younger farmers are taking over existing farms and upgrading. Depending on customers’ feedback, engineers may add features to AgView – like variable-rate capability – but presently the company is working with farmers who are just now adding remote capabilities and want an easy-to-use, affordable system. This article is reprinted with permission from GrowingAmercia.com. Growing America covers the business of agriculture and tells the stories of the people who make the industry work. Producers who subscribe to one of Growing America's 35 newsletters wake up to an email every morning that gives them a heads up on all the ag-related news in their state and across the country.
No more checking irrigation in the dark, getting your truck stuck, missing dinner with family, or spending hundreds in gas...
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