Irrigation Leader July/August

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 7

july/august 2021

Russ Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing

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CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2021 Volume 12 Issue 7

8

Russ Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing

5 C reating Jobs and Supporting Local Communities

By Kris Polly 8 R uss Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing 14 C huck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke

26 W ater Monitoring in Montana: One Irrigation District’s Success With the McCrometer McMag2000

By Lindsay Sugarman 28 A 40‑Year-Old Water Intake Shows the Way for FishFree Irrigation Withdrawals

By Charles Coutant

an American company established in 2009.

STAFF: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief Joshua Dill, Managing Editor Tyler Young, Writer Stephanie Biddle, Graphic Designer Eliza Moreno, Web Designer Caroline Polly, Production Assistant and Social Media Coordinator Cassandra Leonard, Staff Assistant Milo Schmitt, Media Intern SUBMISSIONS: Irrigation Leader welcomes manuscript, photography, and art submissions.

However, the right to edit or deny publishing submissions is reserved. Submissions are returned only upon request.

For more information, please contact our office at (202) 698-0690 or irrigation.leader@waterstrategies.com.

ADVERTISING: Irrigation Leader accepts half-page and full-page ads. For more information on rates and placement, please contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

CIRCULATION: Irrigation Leader is distributed to irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, Bureau of Reclamation officials, members of Congress and committee staff, and advertising sponsors.

For address corrections or additions, please contact us at admin@waterstrategies.com.

Copyright © 2020 Water Strategies LLC. Irrigation Leader relies on the excellent contributions of a variety of natural resources professionals who provide content for the magazine. However, the views and opinions expressed by these contributors are solely those of the original contributor and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policies or positions of Irrigation Leader magazine, its editors, or Water Strategies LLC. The acceptance and use of advertisements in Irrigation Leader do not constitute a representation or warranty by Water Strategies LLC or Irrigation Leader magazine regarding the products, services, claims, or companies advertised. /IrrigationLeader

Coming soon in Irrigation Leader: September: Henry Martinez of Imperial Irrigation District Do you have a story idea for an upcoming issue? Contact our editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

4 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleader

@IrrigationLeadr

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COVER PHOTO: Russ Reinke, First Vice President, Reinke Manufacturing.

Photo courtesy of Reinke Manufacturing.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF REINKE MANUFACTURING.

THE INNOVATORS 18 H al Hockersmith: Recruiting 32 G astón Dussaillant of the Next Generation Capta Hydro: Innovating of Robotics at Reinke for Irrigators Worldwide Manufacturing 38 H ow Acquisitions and 22 Dave Staroscik: Showing Partnerships Are Growing Students the Opportunities CropX’s Business of STEM Trades at Reinke 42 JOB LISTINGS

Irrigation Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for July/August and November/December by

Creating Jobs and Supporting Local Communities

E

veryone involved in irrigation knows Reinke Manufacturing as one of the nation’s top irrigation equipment manufacturers. What they may not know is that in addition to supplying farmers with center pivots, computerized control systems, and other equipment, Reinke supports its local community by sponsoring high school and college courses in welding, machining, and robotics.

In our cover story, we speak with Russ Reinke, Reinke’s first vice president, about the progress the company has made since his father founded it in 1954 and its top issues today. We also speak with three Reinke employees directly involved in the company’s educational initiatives: Chuck Hatzenbuehler, who teaches welding classes; Hal Hockersmith, who serves as the coach of a local team participating in the FIRST Tech Challenge, a competitive robotics challenge for high schoolers; and Dave Staroscik, who teaches classes in machining and AutoCAD. Lindsay Sugarman provides us with a case study of one irrigation district’s success with McCrometer’s McMag2000 meter.

Charles Coutant informs us of the results of a recent study that suggests that hydraulic factors alone can carry juvenile fish around a T-screen structure.

By Kris Polly

We also bring you news from two tech companies making advances in the water and irrigation field.

Gastón Dussaillant’s Chile-based company Capta produces simple, cost-effective, and durable surface water telemetry and canal gate automation solutions and is currently working to pilot its products and establish a presence in the United States. We also speak with Tomer Tzach of Israelbased CropX about the company’s recent acquisitions, its partnership with Reinke, and its plans for the future.

By providing vital equipment, creating jobs, enabling industry, and in some cases even directly sponsoring educational programs, irrigation and water companies support local communities across the United States. I hope you enjoy reading their stories this month. IL Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

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Russ Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing

Reinke's modern manufacturing facilities in Deshler, Nebraska.

F

ew things embody the American spirit as well as farmers.

Their dedication, work ethic, integrity, perseverance in the face of adversity, and commitment to the lands and waters that feed them, their families, their country, and the entire world should serve as a great example to everyone. Russ Reinke has lived those values both as a farmer and as part of a family business that supplies irrigators with the equipment they need.

Reinke Manufacturing is a leader in irrigation pivots and pipes and now is branching into smart, automated irrigation technology and even robotics. In this interview, Russ Reinke tells Irrigation Leader about his family’s deep roots in agriculture, Reinke Manufacturing’s commitment to farmers and the community, and how the company is leading the way in bringing modern technology to irrigation.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your family history and how the company got started.

8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REINKE MANUFACTURING.

Russ Reinke: The company was started by my father, Richard. It began out on the farm, near Byron, Nebraska, about 10 miles south of the current location, in 1954.

Throughout his early days, my father had an ingenious mind and a love for building and improving things. He modified the large chicken house on the farm, and through that, he got into the business of building laminated rafters for buildings. He eventually got a few guys to help him.

That expanded into constructing the buildings themselves.

They built over 500 buildings, including farm buildings and houses and eventually several churches, banks, and commercial buildings. He also branched out into other construction products and a variety of other inventions to make farming easier. From the farm, they moved to Hebron, Nebraska, for a few years and then came across an opportunity in 1957 to purchase an older oil pumping station just west of Deshler, Nebraska. My father got out of farming around 1957 because he was busy with the building business. In 1966, he got a contract to build some machines for the Olsen brothers. He built 50 machines for them. That was when it started to look like irrigation was going to be an important thing for the farmers. Numerous companies were trying to get into the business at the time, but he didn’t like what was on the market and always felt there was a better way to do it. Most people tried to use water drive, oil drive, air drive, and even different mechanical drives. He felt the way of the future was to use electricity. In 1967, he began working on building the first reversible, electric, gear-driven, rubber-tire circular irrigation system. He made it work, and that’s the way 95 percent of all machines are built today.

My father filed for many patents. His work brought many features and benefits to the machine, including making it versatile and operator friendly. The first one, known as the Electrogator, was shipped to a customer in spring 1968.

Irrigation Leader: How long has your family been in Nebraska?

Russ Reinke: I’ve been here my whole life. My dad was born and raised on the farm in Byron, Nebraska. Both of my parents’ ancestors came over from Germany.

Irrigation Leader: What was your father like?

Russ Reinke: He enjoyed people. He enjoyed talking to people. He was industrious yet full of common sense and practicality. He could be stubborn and opinionated, but he would still listen.

Irrigation Leader: Would you describe the positions you’ve held in the company and your role in it now?

Russ Reinke: My work history is a little bit complex. As a young kid, I started working for my father in the machine shop, where we built all our tools, dies, and fixtures. I started working there in the summertime when I was 14. I also worked for a local farmer to earn extra money. This job, and a rewarding experience helping a dear friend of mine farm for a time, helped me develop a love for farming. The same friend and I started farming together full time in 1979 and continued through the 1980s. We couldn’t have picked a irrigationleadermagazine.com

worse time to get started. We did it for about 8 years and survived. Those were tough times, but I learned a lot. At the same time, in the winter, I worked in the machine shop for the family business. During that time, we had a manufacturing plant in Geneva, Nebraska, where we made oilfield pipes and casing for the oil industry. I worked there and eventually became the plant manager. We ended up selling the facility to a Canadian steel company in 1988. The company asked if I would stay on with it, which I did. My dad was a little reluctant to see me do that. I thought it would be good experience to work for another company and see how things are done. I ended up staying with it for 18 years, and it was a great experience. During my years in Geneva, I was still involved with the board of directors of Reinke Manufacturing, allowing me to get good exposure to and a good feel for two different companies at the same time, which I always felt was a great experience. In 2006, I decided that I wanted to come back to Reinke Manufacturing full time. I am currently the first vice president at Reinke Manufacturing and continue to serve on the board of directors.

Irrigation Leader: How large is Reinke’s workforce?

Russ Reinke: Approximately 500 people work for Reinke Manufacturing group at all locations. That varies from

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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for older folks who are reluctant to learn. It is a shame not to try to understand it, because I’ve always said it’s just a dumb machine. Kids quickly pick up on it. I mean, anybody who plays video games can quickly learn robotics.

Irrigation Leader: Do you also offer internships or summer jobs for young people?

Richard Reinke, the founder of Reinke Manufacturing.

season to season. We have another facility in Kearney, Nebraska, a subsidiary of Reinke called ACE Irrigation, with about 50 people.

In several cases, multiple generations of a family have worked for Reinke. The father and mother worked here, the sons and daughters worked here, and their children have worked here. That speaks well of the company, but it also speaks well of the people that we have here. They are dedicated. That’s one of the great benefits of being in rural Nebraska. The work ethic is good. People are good, honest, and hardworking. The downside is that there are not enough of them, and it can be a challenge to find enough people to fill all the necessary positions.

Irrigation Leader: In order to meet its demand for welders, Reinke has established certified welding programs in local high schools. Would you tell us more about those?

10 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

Irrigation Leader: What are some of the new developments at Reinke Manufacturing?

Russ Reinke: Our irrigation product line has been around for quite some time and is starting to mature. It’s no longer just a bunch of iron going around in circles while squirting water. It has become smart, automated, and remote—to the point at which people operate these things remotely via their phones. Satellites not only provide information to users about where those systems are located, but can also tell those machines where they need to go and when. Those aspects are causing significant developments in the product line.

The devices are not so dumb anymore; they’re pretty smart.

In some regards, they almost fall into the robotics field.

Irrigation Leader: How many countries would you say that Reinke pivots are in?

Russ Reinke: That’s not something that we have a good number on, but in excess of 80.

Irrigation Leader: What are some of the top issues facing irrigation today?

Russ Reinke: Regulations, of course. That includes regulations on the water itself and how it is used, supplied, and put down; regulations on the land itself; and regulations on what can and cannot be irrigated. In my opinion, more and more entities are getting their fingers into the regulatory pie. Most agencies have good intentions with regulations, and the regulations are necessary to a certain degree. But they tend to grow, to overreach, and almost to lead to turf fights or control fights, making it extremely difficult for farmers to do what they do best. In many cases, I would say, some of those regulations become insults to the farmers themselves. I say that because a farmer’s livelihood is the land that he’s operating on. That’s a pretty important asset to him. It’s in his best interest to take care of it to the best of his ability so that it produces well. Sometimes it gets to the point at which somebody in Washington or wherever is irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REINKE MANUFACTURING.

Russ Reinke: We did that in 2008. We continue to support those courses; welding is a great trade that I wish more people would explore. If you can weld, there’s no reason you can’t get a job anywhere, and the skill is going to continue to be in demand. That’s why we started a welding program at the local high school and assisted several other schools to create curriculums to get kids and adults trained. We have a certified weld instructor who works for us and teaches a day class at the school for the kids and an evening class for adults. It has been a great program and an excellent opportunity for the community.

In addition to the welding programs, we recently collaborated with state and local organizations to engage kids in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs. We purchased computer-numericalcontrol machining equipment and robotics through several partnerships and made them available for the industrial arts programs in our area. The goal is to get kids interested in industrial arts and trades. Robotics is a huge opportunity for kids; it’s here, and it’s only going to grow. Part of the challenge with this technology is that it may be intimidating

Russ Reinke: Yes, we do. We’ve had many internships over the years in various job fields, from engineering to production to sales. We also have summer opportunities for both college kids and high school kids down to 16 years of age. We even have some high school–aged kids who come out here on a work-release program.

Richard Reinke in a grain building built using Reinke's laminated beams.

trying to tell you how you’re supposed to treat that piece of land. As I said, I almost take it as an insult to the farmer.

Irrigation Leader: Do you have a message for decisionmakers?

Russ Reinke: I’d say get out of the office and go farm for a few years.

Irrigation Leader: What should every irrigating farmer know about Reinke?

Russ Reinke: I would like them to know that I believe we build the best and the finest irrigation equipment in the world. We try to go out of our way to serve our customers as best as we can. We’re not perfect. We continue to learn how to do things better, provide more value to the farmer at a competitive price, and look at new and innovative ways to do things. We welcome everyone as a customer.

Irrigation Leader: Given the history of Reinke and everything that your family has accomplished, what would you say you are most proud of? irrigationleadermagazine.com

Russ Reinke: Several things come to mind. I’m proud of our employees and the support they give us every day.

We’ve been blessed with many incredible employees throughout the years, from those who have been with us from the start to the more than 500 employees we have now. They are essential to us in carrying on the company’s heritage. I’m proud to be associated with the agriculture industry and the values it instills across the United States: honesty, hard work, integrity, and loyalty. I’m also proud of our customers—the faith they’ve had in our products throughout the years. On behalf of the Reinke family, we’re grateful for all our valued customers and farmers who have stayed with us over the last 67 years. There would be no need for our business without them. IL

Russ Reinke is the first vice president of Reinke Manufacturing. For more information on Reinke, email irrigation@reinke.com or visit www.reinke.com.

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Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke

Chuck Hatzenbuehler’s welding class at Deshler High School.

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Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: I started at Reinke in 1983 and have worked in a lot of different weld positions. I currently work in the quality assurance department as a welding technician and have been in this position for about 15 years.

Irrigation Leader: How did you learn to weld?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: A number of years ago, before I worked for Reinke, I worked for Burlington Northern Railroad and went through its apprenticeship program. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REINKE MANUFACTURING..

roviding opportunities for those interested in acquiring practical skills like welding is important for a manufacturing company like Reinke, and it is also highly beneficial for the entire local community. That is why the company has invested in several welding classes for high school students and other community members. Some students are ultimately hired by Reinke, but all of them leave the classes with skills that can help them in a variety of professions. Chuck Hatzenbuehler is a Reinke employee who helps schools in Nebraska and Kansas with their welding programs. In this interview, he tells Irrigation Leader about these programs and the opportunities they provide, both at the company and elsewhere.

That’s how a lot of my welding knowledge and skills were developed. Of course, the training is never done. You never stop learning. Welding has evolved so much over the years that there’s always new stuff to learn, especially with automation and programmable-type welding.

Irrigation Leader: How did Reinke begin to sponsor welding courses?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: In 2007, the Reinke family and other management leaders at the company wanted a way to get more welders while also benefiting the community. We’ve always done training at the plant, and they decided to reach out to the school systems and see if they would be interested in starting something for high school students. The first program we started was at Republic County High School in Belleville, Kansas, in 2008. We started a program at Deshler High School in Deshler, Nebraska, in 2009 and at Fillmore Central High School in Geneva, Nebraska, around 2010.

Reinke worked with Cloud County, Kansas, and Southeast Community College in Nebraska to develop accredited adult classes. Those also started with the high school programs. In 2015–2016, Reinke developed and sponsored an irrigation technician program at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis, and we work with the welding program there, too.

Irrigation Leader: Are the college classes regular, fullsemester classes?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: We meet for 3½ hours one night a week for 12 weeks. The course is given once each semester.

We go through basic technology and theory regarding welding on both steel and aluminum. The adults earn college credits. The high school students earn high school credits through the same class.

Irrigation Leader: Does Reinke provide both the materials and the instruction?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes. Reinke provides the schools with weld material. We donate metal scrap and drop it off to most of the schools in our region, in both Nebraska and Kansas.

Irrigation Leader: Do the high school and college students receive a credential or qualification from taking the course?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Adult and high school students have the opportunity to perform a welder qualification at the end of their training. We work with American Welding Society (AWS) codes and standards to develop all our training, work inspections, and weld inspections. By the end of the class, the students can earn one or two welder qualifications.

Reinke sponsors welder qualifications at Deshler High School, Republic County High School, Fillmore Central irrigationleadermagazine.com

High School, and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. Reinke has helped develop these programs with instructor training and equipment and material donations. Reinke will generally give these students an opportunity to take an AWS welding qualification test once or twice a year.

Irrigation Leader: You mentioned that the high schoolers take essentially the same course as the college students. Do you find that they’re up to the task?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes. Our classes are geared toward students of all ages who have limited or no welding experience. Our welder training is developed to provide knowledge for entry-level weld positions in manufacturing.

Irrigation Leader: How much interest is there among high school students?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: The classes are usually full. Both Republic County High School in Belleville, Kansas, and Deshler High School will invite other schools to send students when openings are available.

Irrigation Leader: Reinke also consults with other schools that are developing educational programs similar to the ones you run. What kinds of things do you help with?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Instructors have questions on certain weld processes and technology and equipment issues. We help out as much as possible. Reinke also donates weld curricula.

Irrigation Leader: Has Reinke hired some of the people who have gone through these programs?

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Yes; a lot of students come out of the classes and go into welding. The students in the adult classes include a mix of employees and nonemployees.

We also have an internship program for high school students. The students take weld classes in school during their internship programs. They work part time, either during or after the school day, to further their on-the-job experience. We currently have three Deshler students and one Republic County student in the internship program.

Two of them are in welding, one is in fabrication, and one is in the electrical shop. IL

Chuck Hatzenbuehler is a welding technician at Reinke Manufacturing.

He can be reached at chuckhatzenbuehler@reinke.com.

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Hal Hockersmith: Recruiting the Next Generation of Robotics at Reinke Manufacturing

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s automation, satellites, and application-based technology take on a larger and larger role in irrigation, Reinke Manufacturing has seen the need to invest in the future of its workforce by exposing young people to robotics and programming. The FIRST Tech Challenge, a competitive robotics challenge for high schoolers, is one way of accomplishing this goal, and Reinke has been sponsoring local teams with both material and financial support. In this interview, Hal Hockersmith, one of Reinke’s computer engineers, tells Irrigation Leader how Reinke’s support of the FIRST Tech Challenge is helping students become engaged in robotics, and how this enthusiasm could help the company and community in the future.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current role.

Hal Hockersmith: I stumbled across Reinke Manufacturing through a career fair at Kansas State University, from which I graduated. I got to talking with one of the engineers who was recruiting and was intrigued by the company’s products. I was awarded the opportunity to come and interview, was given an internship, and after it, was offered a full-time position. I’ve been at Reinke for about 10 years now. Today, I work as a computer engineer, which means I work on a lot of different things, from hardware to software on remote systems. Currently, I’m the primary maintainer of our ReinCloud remote telemetry operations, which is our system that allows customers to control their pivots through cell and satellite units in the field.

Irrigation Leader: Are these control systems basically optional add-ons for center pivots, or do most of Reinke’s mechanical systems incorporate computer controllers at this point?

Irrigation Leader: What is the FIRST Tech Challenge, and why did Reinke decide to get involved with it?

Hal Hockersmith: The FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics building and presentation competition in which 7th- through

18 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

12th-grade students across the entire nation are challenged with a common task. They have to solve a problem and show how they did so. The yearly challenge often involves some sort of object manipulation and various aspects of mechanical controls programming. The tricky thing about the FIRST Tech Challenge is that there is a portion of the match that is entirely autonomous: The kids have to program the robot to be able to act without any sort of input. That’s a huge challenge because it requires the students to program the robot to handle inputs from selected sensors and to complete tasks without any human interaction. During the second portion of the match, the students are allowed to directly control the robot. Normally, one person maneuvers the robot and another person actually manipulates the elements in the field, so to score points, they must work together. The really interesting thing about FIRST is that it is almost always done in a cooperative manner: You have a partner team that is competing with you against two teams that are competing against you. The students learn good partnering skills and how to complement each team’s abilities.

The other two important portions of FIRST are the presentation of what the team did and outreach. Participants have to go before a bunch of judges and explain how they came up with their method of solving the problem. Participants also need to be involved in outreach and the promotion of the FIRST organization and its ideals. The kids interact with the community through fundraising and encourage new students to irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELECTROGATOR ROBOTICS.

Hal Hockersmith: Most of our systems these days have some sort of computer control. Our Advanced Plus and our touchscreens are probably our two most popular control panels, and both incorporate some aspect of computing. We still sell a number of basic electromechanical panels as well, but I think we’re starting to see a lot more dealers accepting the computerization. The remote telemetry option is now built into those natively, so with a simple equipment add-on, you can connect to our server and quickly start to use our services.

Coach Hal Hockersmith (right) shows teammates Jordan (back), Landon (middle), and Jocelyn (front, with back to camera) how to attach a new servo to capture one of the 2020 season game elements.

of people, metal, and financial assistance. It has given us a generous budget to make sure that we have all the purchasable components we need and that we can go to compete at distant events.

Irrigation Leader: Do the students assemble the robots?

Hal Hockersmith: FIRST is a student-oriented organization, so it fully expects the students to do all the design, building, and programming themselves. The adults work as mentors and coaches. If the students have questions, they come to us, and we can give them ideas, show them where they can improve things, encourage them to keep working, and help them work through the problems they run into.

Electrogator Robotics, sponsored by Reinke, prepares to play one of its matches at the 2019 Detroit World Finals.

Irrigation Leader: What is your role with the team?

join the organization. Media engagement through social media and public speaking is important.

Hal Hockersmith: I started out as the programming mentor, helping the kids learn programming. Now, I have become the head coach as well.

Irrigation Leader: Would you give an example of one of the challenges that the participants have to accomplish with their robots?

Irrigation Leader: Have any of the participants from your team gone into computer engineering, and have any of them ended up working for Reinke?

Hal Hockersmith: It changes every year, but this year’s program required the robots to pick a number of foam rings off the ground and then feed them into various goals using some sort of launching mechanism, almost like a pitching machine. The kids were tasked with figuring out a way of picking up those rings and getting them into the goal, while also manipulating a couple of other game elements. At the start of the match, the scoring elements were not in a scoring position, so we had to move them to a score-ready position during the autonomous portion.

During the driver-control portion, we had to take the rings and put them into the areas where we could score major points. Last year was different from most years, since most groups were remote, and instead of competing with others, they were essentially competing against themselves.

Hal Hockersmith: We started out with really young team members, so only a few have graduated so far. Luke Reinke, the student genesis of the team, graduated, and I think he is now studying some sort of mechanical technology.

We’ve had some students intern with the company during the summer, mostly in fabrication. I do know that one of the kids who has done a lot of programming on the team has intentions to go to college after graduation to study computer programming or computer science. A number of the younger kids have expressed interest in potentially pursuing robotics as a career.

The program helps students understand that robotics is becoming more important. Our pivots are going to be a lot more sensor driven and computer driven. By sponsoring our robotics team, Reinke is getting young kids involved early and thinking of local opportunities. They may realize that they don’t need to go off to Silicon Valley or another remote location—there are opportunities here at home with a company that has already sponsored them. They might come back to help us take on next-generation designs with new ideas and new technologies. IL

Irrigation Leader: When did Reinke get involved with the program, and what is the nature of its involvement?

Hal Hockersmith: Reinke Manufacturing got involved about 4 years ago. One of Russ Reinke’s cousins’ sons, Luke Reinke, had competed for a number of years and was approaching his senior year. A bunch of the kids on his team had graduated and decided not to continue, but he still desired to, and he mentioned to Russ that Reinke should get involved. A number of people at Reinke have assisted in the program.

The students have also had access to a lot of the technology here, including our milling operations, parts fabrication division, and 3D printers, to make custom pieces of the robot.

Reinke has sponsored the program by giving us a bunch irrigationleadermagazine.com

Hal Hockersmith is a computer engineer at Reinke Manufacturing. He can be reached at halhockersmith@reinke.com.

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 19

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Dave Staroscik: Showing Students the Opportunities of STEM Trades at Reinke

Students learn about a CNC toolroom mill.

F

or decades, manufacturing was the economic backbone of many parts of the United States, but many young people today are not aware of the opportunities that await them in the manufacturing trades. Reinke Manufacturing is working with local schools in Nebraska to change that by sending employees like Dave Staroscik to teach classes in computer numerical control (CNC) machining and AutoCAD to junior and senior high school students. In this interview, Mr. Staroscik tells Irrigation Leader how the program got started and how it benefits students as well as the local company.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REINKE MANUFACTURING.

Dave Staroscik: I started out as a tool and die maker with an education from a local trade school in Nebraska. I worked for another employer on the tool and die side for about 10 years and was then promoted to manufacturing engineer.

I was with that company for approximately 20 years before coming to Reinke. At Reinke, I started out supporting manufacturing in general and then kept growing with the company. I was eventually promoted to manufacturing engineer manager. Our design engineers create the product that the customers want, and then manufacturing engineers figure out how to manufacture the product.

Throughout my career, I’ve had opportunities to be involved with community activities. Recently, Reinke has been cooperating with Deshler Public Schools to support education in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)

trades. We were able to secure some money from a State of Nebraska grant program to purchase equipment, including CNC, robotics, and welding equipment, for the school to use.

I am familiar with CNC equipment, vertical milling machines, and CNC lathes, even though I wasn’t doing CNC machining when I was a machinist. Russ Reinke approached me and another employee here, Sabrina, and asked if we would like to help teach students at the school about the CNC equipment. We’re now in our second year of instruction.

Sabrina and I work with eighth graders in a one-quarter class designed to expose them to this type of machinery and operations. During the active school year, I go out to the school every day for about an hour and a half. The class is about 45 minutes long. Sometimes, I do a bit of machine work before and after class. I enjoy doing that. It’s nice that Reinke, and Russ Reinke, my boss, is allowing Sabrina and me to take that time out of our day to be there. Reinke is sending us out there on its time. Our work with the students exposes them to our field and that helps the school out too, because industrial arts teachers aren’t always readily available.

The motivation behind the grant program is to expose more kids to the STEM trades and make them aware of jobs in these fields. Four-year college is not for everybody, and the education for STEM trade jobs can happen in junior college or technical college.

We give the students a crash course in 2D line drawing using the program AutoCAD. They’ve never been around computer-aided design (CAD) software, but kids that age are adaptive to computers and are quick learners. We teach

them basic CAD skills so that they can draw and draft in AutoCAD. We try to keep it fun and interesting, and we don’t get too detailed and mechanical. We encourage them to draw what they would like, so it’s something of an art project, and then we take those 2D line drawings and program them onto to the CNC mill, and the students get to machine the part out.

Irrigation Leader: In addition to providing instructors, does Reinke also supply the CNC mill and the other equipment?

Dave Staroscik: The State of Nebraska started a grant program to encourage this activity on the local level that provides a one-to-one match for money raised by a private business. That’s how the equipment got brought in. It’s up to the business, in this case Reinke, to actually write the grant and draft a proposal for how we would spend those funds. The school provided the space for the classes, but Reinke paid for half the equipment and the grant money covered the other half. That includes the CNC, robotics, and welding equipment.

Irrigation Leader: What was the motivation behind the state’s grant program?

Dave Staroscik: The governor felt that with the shortage of people available in the STEM fields, there needed to be something to encourage students to go into those fields. It has therefore become a core class for junior high students.

We incorporated AutoCAD into this class. The school already had the CAD program, and we wanted to show these students how the design side is integrated with the CNC, or machining, side. The grant is intended to help expose junior high kids to this technology, and that’s what we’re doing. They’re getting a chance to realize, “Oh, I could do this,” or, “I didn’t realize this was something I could learn.” It gives students who are not sure about going to a 4-year college or who are not sure what careers are out there the chance to start thinking about it as eighth graders. Then, when they get into high school and start picking classes, they may be more inclined to take STEM classes.

Irrigation Leader: Are you finding that Reinke now has a larger pool of skilled applicants to jobs?

Dave Staroscik: That is definitely a goal. Ultimately, we would like to see some of these students take more of this type of classes as they progress through the school. The program is relatively new—we’re actually in our second year.

The students who have been in the program the longest are only freshmen in high school right now. The welding program, for instance, has been in place longer, and we have seen some of those students come back and work for us.

We look at these classes as a way to help feed our organization, but it isn’t just about Reinke. Sure, we want irrigationleadermagazine.com

The control board of the toolroom mill.

these people to come work for us if they can, but it’s also another avenue for education. Deshler is not a huge community. Our school is small, but these industrial arts and STEM programs are good resources for these students.

We would like to see these students evolve and potentially be employees of ours. These classes mean that they will have skills when they walk in the door. The CNC program is in its infancy right now, and we’ll see in the next 3–5 years if any of the students come back to us. We understand that not everybody’s going to stick around and come to work for us, but if we do nothing, then nothing will happen.

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything else you wanted to add before we wrap up?

Dave Staroscik: It’s important to note that a lot of products have started to be produced overseas. The current generation has not been exposed to these fields the way I was when I was growing up. This is a positive way to reintroduce skills to students at a young age and to create an opportunity to start filling that workforce again. We can teach manufacturing here in the United States instead of having to outsource it to other countries. Economically, it’s good overall. It keeps jobs here and provides good support to local communities. IL Dave Staroscik is manufacturing engineer manager at Reinke Manufacturing.

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Water Monitoring in Montana: One Irrigation District’s Success With the McCrometer McMag2000

By Lindsay Sugarman

I

rrigators who have been metering for some time often have a preferred measurement technology, opting to stick with a certain style of flow monitoring device year after year. However, when flow monitoring requirements and preferences change over time, branching out to adapt new technology can bring significant advantages to everyday operations. This evolution of flow monitoring needs is just what the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District (SWUID) experienced as it implemented various McCrometer flow meters—and as it became an early adopter of McCrometer’s new McMag2000. To learn more about the SWUID’s experience with the McMag2000 and the overall McCrometer product suite, we spoke to Raymond Bell, president of the SWUID’s board of directors, about the district’s flow projects.

From Open Ditches to Pipeline Operations

Although it has been pumping water since the 1940s, the SWUID only began metering 12–14 years ago or so. It has found great success in applying for state grant money to advance its pipeline operations, including by investing in flow metering projects. In 2006, the SWUID began using McCrometer’s McPropeller meters, the original product McCrometer developed for the agricultural market more than 65 years ago. The SWUID installed multiple 27‑inch McPropeller meters off pump applications and 12‑inch meters at turnouts for field applications.

Measuring the water from multiple pumps to various pipelines became the SWUID’s main flow project application, and as the district became familiar with its monitoring operations, it soon desired the ability to monitor in real time and through digital means. This led the SWUID to seek a metering solution from McCrometer that provided it with digital output options.

From Propeller Meters to Mags

26 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

Custom to Customer

The similarity in price between the McPropeller and the McMag2000 was particularly appealing to the SWUID, but there were many other features of the mag meter that met the district’s metering needs. The pulse-output capability allowed the district to maintain its remote monitoring, and the easy in-field maintenance kits gave the district peace of mind for future meter upkeep.

“Sidney Water draws very silty, debris-filled water from the Yellowstone River,” explains Mr. Bell. “That kind of flow media can be very corrosive to propeller meters and their bearings. I’ve rebuilt a lot of the tube-style propeller meters myself. Implementing mag meters has greatly reduced our need for maintenance.”

The SWUID needed an economical meter that would handle the velocity of the water at the installation site. The metering project was measuring flow off floater pumps, pushing water uphill in multiple pipelines at 12‑ and 16‑inch diameters at an average of 5,000 gallons a minute.

Although the newly launched McMag2000 was intended for line sizes of 4–12 inches, the design engineers in McCrometer’s research and development department knew the meter could be customized to meet the SWUID’s needs.

Since installing his initial 12­‑ and 16‑inch McMag2000 meters, Bell reports satisfactory performance and has placed an order for six more McMag2000s for upcoming turnout application flow projects.

Due to the demand for the McMag2000 from customers like the SWUID since its launch in February 2020, McCrometer will be extending the McMag2000’s linesize offerings to cover diameters of 4–16 inches. These additional line sizes will be available on the McMag2000 price list in summer 2021. IL

Lindsay Sugarman is the marketing campaign specialist at McCrometer. For more information about the McMag2000 or to receive a quote on your upcoming flow project, visit www.mccrometer.com/ag. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF MCCROMETER.

Electromagnetic (mag) meters are generally pricier than propeller meters, but the no-moving-parts design as well as potential value-added features are often a draw for irrigators. In 2016, the SWUID purchased several 12‑inch McMag3000 flow meters and used pulse output to receive constant flow data to cell phones. Rather than physically inspecting propeller meters’ dial faces for totalizer and flow rate information, the McMag3000’s digital output capabilities allow for remote meter data monitoring.

The McMag3000 offers a range of features, including datalogging, DC power option, ±1 percent accuracy with factory calibration, and more. Its range of features and available higher accuracy make this product significantly more expensive than the McPropeller, and the price tag

limited the quantity that the SWUID could purchase with state grant funds.

In 2020, McCrometer unveiled the McMag2000 flow meter, a product similar in design to the 3000 model but offering fewer features for a more economical price tag. The SWUID was interested and approached McCrometer about adopting the newly launched mag meter.

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A 40‑Year-Old Water Intake Shows the Way for Fish-Free Irrigation Withdrawals

By Charles Coutant

A typical angled fish screen installed at the beginning of an irrigation diversion canal. Water passes through the angled screen while fish are concentrated in a small flow that is returned to the river via a fish-return ditch.

A cylindrical T-screen structure, manufactured by Striker Welding, that is oriented parallel with a river’s flow. Fish in the river are diverted away from the structure by the hydraulics at the nose cone, and most do not encounter the screens located at the sides of the cylinder. No fish return system is needed because the fish remain in the river.

28 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

For more information on this topic, see Charles Coutant, “Why cylindrical screens in the Columbia River (USA) entrain few fish,” The Journal of Ecohydraulics, available online. IL Charles C. Coutant, PhD, is the owner of Coutant Aquatics. He can be contacted at ccoutant3@comcast.net or (865) 483‑5976.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALDEN RESEARCH LABORATORY AND CHARLES COUTANT.

I

t’s no secret that water diversions from rivers in the West for irrigation feeder canals bring along fish, especially downstream-migrating juvenile salmon. No one wants to see young salmon stranded in irrigation ditches; some of the fish may be endangered or threatened stocks in need of conservation.

Many irrigation districts, with federal or state assistance, have installed elaborate screening systems to act essentially as sieves to keep the fish out of the withdrawn water and return them to the river through bypasses. The success of such systems largely depends on the features of the screen: the size of the open space in the sieve and the velocity of the water going toward the holes (approach velocity), through them (through-screen velocity), and alongside the screen (sweeping velocity). These features are the ones generally used by regulatory agencies such as the National Marine Fisheries Service as design criteria for intake screens.

The evaluation of a 40‑year-old water intake at Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generation Station on the Columbia

River near Richland, Washington, has shown the benefits of a different approach. The monitoring of a cylindrical T-screen structure in the river has shown essentially no withdrawal of juvenile fall Chinook salmon and steelhead, even though it is immediately downstream of spawning areas for large numbers of both species. Up to 56 million newly emerged and rearing Chinook salmon are estimated to pass downstream by the intake.

The screens have 3/8-inch pores that are capable of sucking in small fish, yet a monitoring system with near 90 percent capture efficiency caught only four fish in the 142 million cubic feet of water withdrawn over 4 years of testing during the April–June period of juvenile salmon abundance. Why? The answer seems to be the hydraulic patterns around the screen structure, which carry fish around the screen, rather than the sieving effectiveness of the actual screening material. The evaluation incorporated well-known facts about the pressure and velocity patterns around cylinders in moving water and the sensory and avoidance capabilities of fish encountering those patterns.

Purely hydraulic factors at the nose cone of the T-screen structure—the commonly observed bow wave—appear to move fish away from the screens located at the side of the cylinder. Such hydraulic bypass had been identified earlier in tests of model screens in a test flume, where it was more important than the screen’s ability to physically exclude fish.

Since even small salmon are sensitive to changes in water pressure and velocity as they migrate, they can sense the hydraulic changes at the T-screen’s nose cone and avoid the structure. Both their instinctive flight response and their swimming behavior would take them away from the vicinity of the actual screens on the sides of the T-screen structure.

The takeaway for irrigation organizations is that a T-screen structure in swift river currents repels fish of all sizes and passes them in the river itself. There is no need for a fishreturn channel. As at the Columbia Generating Station, a T-screen structure could be placed midriver with a buried pipe to carry the fish-free water to a diversion canal. T-screens with wedgewire screening material are readily available commercially.

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THE INNOVATORS

Gastón Dussaillant of Capta Hydro: Innovating for Irrigators Worldwide

A Capta CFT surface water telemetry device installed in a flow-gauging structure in one of the canals of the Maipo Canal Association irrigation distict, just south of Santiago, Chile.

C

apta Hydro is a company that embodies the axiom that the closing of one door can allow another to open. Gastón Dussaillant cofounded the company to address one type of water opportunity: hydrokinetic generation in open canals. Although this initial venture proved unsuccessful, it opened his eyes to another opportunity: the need for simple, cost-effective, and durable surface water telemetry and canal gate automation solutions. Seeing the problems with available technology, Capta Hydro developed new telemetry and automation hardware that is accurate, durable, resistant to theft or vandalism, powered by solar energy and that can easily integrate into existing irrigation infrastructure. In this interview, Mr. Dussaillant tells Irrigation Leader about Capta’s origins, the process of developing its telemetry, automation, and software products, and how the company is seeking to promote the better use of surface irrigation water worldwide.

Gastón Dussaillant: I’m Chilean and am currently based in Santiago, Chile. I’ve been an entrepreneur for almost

32 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPTA.

Irrigation Leader: Tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

10 years. Over the last 6 or 7 years, I have partnered with my cofounder, Emilio De La Jara, who is a mechanical engineer and the main inventor of our products. We’ve been keen on developing a technology company to focus on solving environmental problems. First, we tried for almost a year and a half to develop wave energy converters before realizing that we needed more money and time than we realistically could access here. Then we pivoted to micro hydropower for artificial canals. My cofounder had some experience in that field and had done some prototypes with one of the top universities in Chile. That seemed more promising and achievable, considering that there are tons of canals all over the world that represent hydrokinetic potential energy that is not recovered with traditional technologies. We thought we could develop something noninvasive and easy to install that could generate competitive distributed energy. That was the idea on which we founded Capta Hydro in late 2015.

By mid-2017, we had a working pilot, but we realized again that to develop a market-ready product, we needed access to capital willing to take technology risk, which is scare here. We also became aware of other challenges, such as the pressure of

THE INNOVATORS decreasing solar energy prices, and realizing that locations with good generation potential and nearby distributed demand were not as common as we initially hoped.

In parallel, we were having conversations with several irrigation district managers and river managers, asking them if they had any data on how much water actually flowed through their canals so that we could estimate and project our power generation potential. We were surprised to learn that they rarely had any data. With one in particular, the Putaendo River Water Association, we thought that this was strange, because we had seen that it had installed around 30 telemetry devices just a few months before. We asked, and the association told us that half had been vandalized and the other half either didn’t work or were imprecise and that the support from the supplier was very poor. The association was really unhappy, since it had obtained around $200,000 in subsidies for this project and invested almost $75,000 of its money.

We did more research and learned that similar things had occurred in many river water associations and irrigation districts around Chile, and that their only alternative was to implement expensive imported solutions, which often needed lots of additional infrastructure and didn’t work as designed because of the high sediment level in our water. We started realizing that this was a potentially more attractive business opportunity, because the problem to solve was so much bigger. We figured that even if we could install 1,000 hydrokinetic turbines and generate 10 megawatts of energy per hour, it would have a marginal effect overall on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but that if we could install 1,000 high-quality telemetry and canal automation devices, we could have a big effect on how water is distributed and managed in Chile, helping the country adapt to increasing water stress. We then learned that this same issue existed in lots of developing countries and in underserved areas of developed countries. By late 2017, we had decided to focus exclusively on developing solutions for surface water distribution infrastructure, including telemetry, automation devices, and water management software that would allow operators to increase their distribution efficiency and precision and allow optimized, demand-based distribution rather than supply-based distribution and give water users better visibility and control of their surface water Irrigation Leader: How many employees does the company have?

Gastón Dussaillant: Currently, we have around 20 employees, though that number will probably double in the next 12 months because we are growing fast. We are funded by angel investors in Chile and are looking for venture capital funding later this year to expand internationally and to further develop our solutions.

Irrigation Leader: Did you develop the product from scratch?

Gastón Dussaillant: Yes, it was designed completely from irrigationleadermagazine.com

scratch. We didn’t know anything about Internet of Things solutions, canal flow measuring, telemetry, or automation.

We knew about hydropower and turbine modeling, but we had to learn everything else. That led us to question every assumption made by existing solutions. The result was our core product, the Capta Canal Flow Telemetry (Capta CFT), a telemetry device designed for measuring flows in surface water, such as canals and rivers. We are applying for a worldwide invention patent for this product. Its simple design solves many of the problems that we observed with other telemetry devices. Essentially, it’s an enclosed safe box, made of antiabrasive and almost tank-grade steel, which is securely installed on a canal wall or flow gauging structure with steel anchors. The standard model has an antenna on top and a solar panel in one of its faces, protected by an antiimpact polycarbonate, and all the electronics, batteries, and sensors are secure inside. The device sends around 1 data point per minute to our Capta AMARU software, which is available both in web and mobile versions, allowing users to see real-time water levels, flows, and volumes; configure alerts; obtain data reports; and much more.

The device was designed to be versatile, and different sensors can be installed. The basic version has an ultrasonic sensor, which measures the water level and correlates it with a discharge curve in a flow-gauging structure; it can also be used to measure water heights to manage flood or canal levels. Recently, we developed a new version with a radar velocity sensor that can measure superficial water velocity, giving direct water flow measurements in places where a traditional flow-gauging structure cannot be used, for example due to insufficient slope. This device has worked really well, giving 2–3 percent precision readings after calibration. In total, we have around 100 Capta CFT devices installed for about 30 customers in Chile, mainly irrigation districts but also some final water users, and one device in the 014 Río Colorado Irrigation District in Baja California, Mexico, which has been operating perfectly for almost a year and a half. Our customers were skeptical about our product at first, because when they had tried other devices, they had been stolen within a few weeks, but after 24 months and a few unsuccessful theft attempts, our device has performed as expected. All in all, we’ve had more than 30,000 accumulated device-days with no theft events.

Irrigation Leader: You mentioned that the basic Capta CFT measures water level. Does it need to be set to the parameters of the particular canal?

Gastón Dussaillant: It depends. Some customers only use it to measure water levels as a flood alert device, but in order to get flow measurements, you have to install the device on a flow-gauging structure and upload the discharge curve to our software. A big advantage of our solution is that these structures are common in Chile, the United States, and elswhere around the world. Normally, someone would have had July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 33

THE INNOVATORS to go there in person once or twice a day to look at how much water there is, but with our solution, you can easily bring the infrastructure live to constantly report water flow and level.

Irrigation Leader: Why do people want to steal these devices?

Gastón Dussaillant: Sometimes only because they can, other times because they want to resell the batteries or the solar panels, even though they’re not worth that much. In a few cases, however, water users vandalize the devices because they benefit from the status quo and don’t want their water use measured. Vandalism and theft can be expensive problems that really make customers think twice about a potential investment. We have talked to potential customers in Mexico who invested around $700,000 in 15 automatic gates from another supplier that were vandalized within 2 weeks.

Irrigation Leader: What part does education play in your sales efforts?

Gastón Dussaillant: Educating and raising the awareness of both potential customers and the general public is definitely part of our effort. We want surface water users, particularly farmers, who at least in Chile have only recently started to worry about distribution efficiency, to realize that investments in improving surface water distribution management through telemetry and automation at the river and the irrigation-district levels can be highly productive and lucrative. Any increase in efficiency in those big volumes translates to lots of additional water for them. For example, we have a project in Chile that involves the installation of our telemetry and canal gate automation devices in 10 canal outtakes of a river. The project will potentially help the river water association to improve its distribution precision by 15 percent, which would have meant an additional 50 million cubic meters (40,536 acre-feet) in 2019, our driest season in almost 60 years, when the river was at 25 percent of normal levels. That’s the same volume of water as would have been provided by a dam project that the water users there have been waiting for for more than 50 years. It’s a much faster, more cost-efficient alternative.

Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about your pilot program with California State University, Fresno?

34 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

the cost of a traditional telemetry station. In most cases, no change in infrastructure is needed.

Irrigation Leader: Do you travel to see your clients in person?

Gastón Dussaillant: Yes, we traveled a lot initially to really understand the problem we were solving and to develop the products. Recently, we have traveled more to execute projects, given that movement in Chile has been greatly restricted due to the COVID‑19 pandemic. Our plan for the United States, after our initial pilots, is to initially travel for a few months to visit customers and learn as much as possible about their challenges and priorities, and then to find a local representative with whom we can partner and whom we can train on all aspects of our solutions, including installation and support.

Irrigation Leader: Are the telemetry unit and the canal gate automation unit sold both separately and as a package?

Gastón Dussaillant: Exactly. Sometimes, you need to measure first, then decide what you need to change, and then install control technology. The fact that we sell these units separately makes the implementation of these solutions much more modular and cost effective.

The installation of our canal gate automation device is much simpler than other approaches, because we automate existing canal gates and don’t need additional infrastructure.

We also generally don’t need the canal to stop, so installation is much faster.

We’re also working on automatic flow delivery, meaning that eventually the canal gate will be able to be correlated to a downstream or upstream telemetry device and will be able to operate automatically to deliver a certain flow, maintain a certain water level, or deliver a certain volume. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAPTA.

Gastón Dussaillant: We are in conversation with Fresno State and the Fresno Irrigation District to pilot our new, low-cost device. That said, we are also looking for other irrigation districts that may be interested in piloting our Capta CFT telemetry device. One of its key advantages is that it is really easy to transport and install. After checking for general requirements (canal wall thickness, solar or grid energy, cellular signal), a team of two with a simple power tool and remote instruction from our side can have it installed and functioning within an hour, all at a fraction of

A Capta CFC canal automation device installed on two canal gates at the Melado Irrigation District in the Maule Region, Chile.

THE INNOVATORS Irrigation Leader: Where outside Chile are you active?

Gastón Dussaillant: We have been active in Mexico since late 2019, but Mexico was one of the countries hardest hit

by COVID‑19, so all our plans were pushed back a year.

In a sense, it was a good thing, because it gave us time to optimize our solutions. Now, we’re starting up conversations with an important water management research center in Mexico that will help us implement a nationwide program of 10 or 20 pilots in the country’s key basins. As I mentioned earlier, we are also looking to install multiple pilots of our Capta CFT device in the United States and South America this year.

Irrigation Leader: What are Capta’s other top issues today?

The Capta AMARU water distribution management program, showing water level, flow, and hourly volume.

Gastón Dussaillant: What really got this company going and made a space for us in the market were our innovative telemetry and canal gate automation devices, which are resistant to theft, fast and easy to implement, and generally significantly cheaper than alternatives. Those devices have lots of advantages, but they are still just tools to obtain data or to act on those data. Our primary focus from now on will be on developing software and tools to extract the maximum value from those data for our customers. We’re building a first-class software team and developing software that’s not a closed hub but can be integrated with different data sources and is useful for different stages of surface water distribution. We are working on solutions for the automatic calculation of flow and volume allocations according to water rights in rivers and irrigation districts, to enable a more efficient and precise water market and to detect water losses between different elements of a distribution structure. Those are the kinds of things that will translate into real efficiency gains and more value to our customers, both for surface water distribution infrastructure operators and final water users.

Gastón Dussaillant: Surface water accounts for around 70 percent of water withdrawals for human use, and the infrastructure to distribute it is extensive and spread around the world, but in many senses, it’s been underserved and is largely invisible. In most of the world, this infrastructure is managed in the same way it has been for the last 50 years, depending exclusively on on-terrain personnel, even though we are 30 years into the internet era. When we considered the facts that this infrastructure can suffer losses of up to 70 percent and that a large portion of these losses can be explained by poor management, we realized that improving the efficiency of this infrastructure can be an important measure for mitigating the negative effects of climate change and water scarcity. By conserving and optimizing water for human use and nature, we can improve lives around the world. That’s our biggest motivation.

The number of telemetry and canal gate automation devices needed for this task is at least two or three orders of magnitude higher than the number implemented right now. We’re developing the technology to enable surface water distribution infrastructure customers to do that in a reliable and cost-effective manner. This technology will be around for 10–20 years or more, and our company will consistently develop new solutions to enable them to further improve their surface water distribution. That’s why we see ourselves as a global company. Chile is a relatively small country with only 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of irrigated crops. We see real potential to deploy our solutions in 100 million hectares (247 million acres) in 15 key countries around the world, of which the United States is a top priority. Ideally, we want to launch in 15 countries in the next 3–5 years.

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything you would like to add?

Gastón Dussaillant: We’re open to having conversation with potential partners, water associations, and irrigation districts all around the country that are interested in piloting our Capta CFT surface water telemetry device during the 2021 irrigation season or beyond. The first customers to sign up will be able to purchase the product at a discount. My invitation to infrastructure operators and final water users is to think of a key part of their water infrastructure where they need real-time water flow data and to reach out. We are looking forward to meeting them, learning about their water challenges and delivering value. IL

Gastón Dussaillant is one of the cofounders and the chief commercial officer of Capta Hydro. He can be reached at gaston@captahydro.com.

Irrigation Leader: What is Capta Hydro’s vision for the future? irrigationleadermagazine.com

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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THE INNOVATORS

How Acquisitions and Partnerships Are Growing CropX’s Business

One of CropX’s soil probes.

I

srael-based ag tech firm CropX has made waves with its do-it-yourself soil sensors and cloud-based software system.

Because its sensors can be easily installed by end users without technician help, CropX’s business boomed in 2020 despite the travel restrictions and social distancing requirements of the COVID‑19 pandemic. That year, CropX also acquired U.S. firm CropMetrics and New Zealand–based ReGen and announced a major partnership with irrigation equipment manufacturer Reinke. In this interview, CropX CEO Tomer Tzach tells Irrigation Leader about his company’s recent advances and prospects for the future.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position at CropX.

38 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CROPX.

Tomer Tzach: I was born in Israel but raised in both Israel and the United States. I attended high school in Irvine, California. I then went back to Israel for the military service that is required of all Israeli citizens upon reaching the age of 18. I was fortunate to be accepted at and to graduate from the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy and thereafter served as a transport pilot for the air force until the age of 25. After leaving the air force, I began studying computer science.

After almost 4 years of studies, I joined Intel as a software developer and worked there for the next 4 years. During that time, I completed my MBA and shortly thereafter went to work for a venture capital firm for several years, which was quite exciting.

After that, I went back to the operational side. I accepted my first CEO position at a small startup in the internet space. The startup was essentially in distress.

We somehow managed to turn it around and, after about a year, sold it to a competing company. It wasn’t a big exit, but it was still a relatively good outcome given the status of the company when I inherited it. Then, I founded my own e-commerce company, which focused mostly on selling diamond jewelry online. I ran that for about 6–7 years, and it grew nicely to the point that I was eventually able to sell the main brand name to a large diamond manufacturer in 2016.

At this point, I was approached by a headhunter who led me to the CropX opportunity I am currently involved with. Agriculture is underserved by technology today; there is so much more that could be done to enhance this space.

I saw the huge opportunity there and was excited about the fact that CropX specialized in both hardware and software.

It was clear that this combination provided an extremely strong competitive advantage. I was also impressed by the company’s investor base. Being a former venture capitalist myself, I know the huge importance a strong board and investor base has for a company’s ultimate success. In hindsight, I made a very good call the day I decided to join the company 4 years ago, at the beginning of 2017. It’s been an amazing ride, and particularly in the last 2 years, things have been going well for us.

THE INNOVATORS Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about CropX and its products.

Tomer Tzach: A moment ago, I mentioned that our product has both a hardware component and a software component.

The hardware is a proprietary, revolutionary soil sensor that we developed ourselves. The software is an app that farmers download to their mobile devices to improve their practices.

We started with irrigation: where, when, and how much to irrigate. Over time, we managed to help our customers save 50 percent of the water they otherwise would have used and to simultaneously increase their yields by up to 20 percent.

We have had outstanding results in that regard. We also stepped into nutrient management in an effort to achieve similar efficiencies with fertilizer application. We also provide automation—not just providing prescriptions, but actually controlling irrigation systems, including center-pivot systems.

On the hardware side, the sensor has compelling advantages for farmers and ranchers. It’s a 100 percent doit-yourself system. Other sensor brands require installation technicians to bring the probes and connect them to the telemetry unit, the solar panels, the cables, and the other system components. That could take a half a day. With CropX, farmers deal with just one device that can be installed by themselves in 5 minutes, works out of the box, and requires zero configuration. It’s the only system that can really scale. Unlike the products of many of our competitors, which have to have a large local presence to do all the necessary hand holding with their customers, the CropX system can be delivered and be up and running almost immediately. Thus, in less than 3 years of commercialization, CropX is already deployed in over 40 countries worldwide.

It’s the do-it-yourself capabilities that allowed us to deploy so widely and expedite our business so rapidly.

to the New Zealand market, and a team in New Zealand, we obtained additional capabilities. Now, we have an effluent irrigation product that’s well tailored to dairy farmers and helps them prevent nitrogen runoff and leaching. We’re now able to take that product to places that have similar issues around their dairy industries, such as Ireland, ultimately helping them be more sustainable.

Irrigation Leader: Are the customers of CropMetrics and ReGen able to start using CropX’s hardware as well?

Tomer Tzach: That’s one of the advantages of these acquisitions. Often, the CropX system is superior to the system these customers had before. Whether it’s better hardware, a less expensive system, or stronger software, it’s an easy transition for the customer as well as for us. The idea is to yield a win-win across the board for both parties.

Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about CropX’s new acquisitions and the new capabilities they’ve provided the company?

Tomer Tzach: We acquired CropMetrics at the beginning of 2020. That acquisition strengthened our data play and data insights. CropMetrics has been in the market for over a decade and has accumulated a significant amount of data that we have fed into our system. That made our system much smarter and stronger. CropMetrics is a robust brand in Nebraska and Kansas—it’s essentially the leading brand there—and its sales and distribution network in this region has been the key to its success. We’re very happy with the acquisition, and the postmerger integration has gone very well. Our customers now receive a much better product because they receive the combination of what CropMetrics and CropX bring to the table.

More recently, in September 2020, CropX acquired New Zealand–based ReGen, which is a cloud-based precision effluent and irrigation decision-support tool company. In addition to gaining ReGen’s customers, access irrigationleadermagazine.com

A user installs a CropX soil probe.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your new partnership with Reinke.

Tomer Tzach: The idea behind this venture is for CropX to provide an agronomic layer to Reinke’s customers, essentially to provide irrigation scheduling and pivot automation. In that respect, it’s a perfect fit. We’ve been in discussions with Reinke for quite a while now. The collaboration and relationship between the two companies is strong, and product integration has gone very well so far, introducing a compelling product for the 2021 season.

Irrigation Leader: How did you integrate your software with Reinke’s existing software?

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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THE INNOVATORS Tomer Tzach: We’ve been spending the last several months integrating, testing, and adjusting to ensure everything is prepared for the 2021 growing season. CropX has powerful variable rate irrigation (VRI) capabilities, which are now applied to a Reinke pivot system.

Irrigation Leader: What will change for farmers who already use the Reinke system as a result of this partnership?

Tomer Tzach: They can purchase the CropX system, install several sensors on the pivot, and download the software that connects them to the Reinke controller.

It’s a seamless combination. From that point on, they get irrigation prescriptions for their field sent directly to the pivot, which ultimately provides them with major efficiencies through full VRI.

Tomer Tzach: There are a few partnerships that have been publicly disclosed already. One of them is with FarmAgro, a significant agribusiness in Costa Rica. Now, we’re deploying in that country. It’s been a successful partnership. It’s an interesting experience for us, because over the years, we have gained a lot of experience with alfalfa, potatoes, soybeans, and wheat, but Costa Rica grows pineapple, cocoa, coffee, and other crops that are distinctive to that region.

We’ve also announced a partnership with Growers Edge in the United States, which is essentially a crop insurance use case.

Lastly, we recently announced a partnership with NASA Harvest to provide unprecedented soil insights for its global agricultural monitoring efforts. We aim to assist NASA Harvest with its mission to improve food security and advance sustainable agriculture, supporting farmer productivity while preserving natural resources in the United States and worldwide through the use of satellite data.

There are quite a few additional partnerships in the works that we hope to be able to announce soon, but naturally, I cannot speak about them just yet!

Irrigation Leader: How much has CropX grown over the last few years with these new partnerships?

Tomer Tzach: The growth has been significant, especially in the last 2 years, despite the COVID‑19 pandemic. I think that’s the best testimony to the scalability and the do-it-yourself capabilities of the system. During this time, many of our competitors were forced to stop selling, because they require technicians to go into the field to install their systems and meet customers. Because our system can be installed by the end users themselves, we’ve installed in places that we couldn’t have imagined, like Belize, Japan, Senegal, Thailand, Uruguay, and more, all during the COVID‑19 crisis.

Irrigation Leader: What are your plans for the next 1–2 years?

Tomer Tzach: First of all, I am a strong believer in partnerships, and I think we’ll see many more of those as we move forward. I’m also a believer in consolidation in the ag-tech space, so I’m hopeful that we will see more of that as well. I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. This space is already definitely consolidating, and I think CropX is well positioned to continue to be one of those consolidators. IL

Tomer Tzach is the CEO of CropX. He can be contacted at tomer@cropx.com.

Irrigation Leader: Do you have other partnerships in the works?

40 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CROPX.

An irrigation prescription provided by CropX’s software.

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JOB LISTINGS

Does your organization have a job listing you would like to advertise in our pages? Irrigation Leader provides this service to irrigation districts, water agencies, and hydropower facilities free of charge. For more information, please email Kris Polly at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

A&W MAINTENANCE LABORER COATING TECHNICIAN Location: Atlanta, Georgia Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: +S urface preparation of the area in which epoxy will be applied. +S andblast to remove debris from metal. +O perate electric and hand tools. +O perate a high-PSI pressure washer and spray gun. +K eep tools, equipment, and work area clean.

REQUIREMENTS: +M ust be willing to travel in and out of state when needed. +M ust be willing to complete a field training in Massachusetts. +M ust be able to work overtime. +M ust be able to complete OSHA 10 and other safety training provided by A&W. For more information: Contact Cherry L. Martinez, senior recruiter, at (407) 287‑8790 or cmartinez@garney.com.

A&W MAINTENANCE LABORER COATING TECHNICIAN Location: Denver, Colorado Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: +S urface preparation of the area in which epoxy will be applied. +S andblast to remove debris from metal. +O perate electric and hand tools. +O perate a high-PSI pressure washer and spray gun. +K eep tools, equipment, and work area clean.

REQUIREMENTS: +M ust be willing to travel in and out of state when needed. +M ust be willing to complete a field training in Massachusetts. +M ust be willing to learn and perform work according to the company’s procedure. +M ust be able to complete OSHA 10 and other safety training provided by A&W. +M ust be able to work overtime.

For more information: Contact Ariana Behler, craft recruiter, at (407) 287‑8808 or abehler@garney.com.

A&W MAINTENANCE PROJECT ENGINEER Location: Denver, Colorado Deadline: Open until filled

42 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

RESPONSIBILITIES: + Negotiate and purchase materials. + Create submittals, RFIs, and change orders. + Coordinate projects from start to finish (Assist with estimating, project setup & closeout, support field operations, maintain detailed job costs). + Assist in scheduling projects and crews.

REQUIREMENTS: + Degree in civil engineering, construction management, or other related field. + 0‑3 years’ experience. + Located in or willing to relocate to the Denver area. + Must be willing to travel 1–4 weeks at a time to support projects.

For more information: Contact Josh Snow at jsnow@garney.com.

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RENEWABLE ENERGY ANALYST Location: Atlanta, Georgia Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $70,000–$95,000 RESPONSIBILITIES: +E xecute analytical, strategic, and financial assessments for business case development. +G ather customer/market information and offer recommendations to answer key business questions. +Q uantify risk and rewards to prioritize commercial activity and drive sales. +T ranslate business problems into advanced analytics and research projects. +P roactively manage customer and partner deliverables to ensure excellence and consistency. +O wn detailed financial modeling and market research for economic determinations such as cost of energy, breakeven, and project IR. +A nalyze and evaluate data, creating innovative advanced analytics and data visualizations. +C onduct periodic customer engagements to communicate value proposition, product fit, and financial performance.

REQUIREMENTS: +B BA/BA/BS in business, finance, accounting, or engineering. + I nvolvement in developing creative research and analysis program. + I ntermediate proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint for financial modeling and presentations. +A bility to travel up 25%.

For more information: Visit emrgy.com/careers/.

To apply: Send cover letter and resume to hr@emergy.com. irrigationleadermagazine.com

JOB LISTINGS

SALES ENGINEER Location: Atlanta, Georgia Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: +R eview customer water resource data to determine the most valuable project scope (turbine and array sizing). +C reate and manage sales tools for developing system solutions and value optimization. +C reate customer proposals and presentations demonstrating the benefits, value and financial payback. +U se financial modeling tools to calculate cost of energy, payback period and project IRR. +M eet with clients, as part of the sales team, for sales presentations and to develop customer offering. +A cquire new customers by winning them over from competitors and discovering newopportunities. +M anage own book of sales opportunities developing from origination to order.

REQUIREMENTS: +B S degree in engineering; preferred background in electrical, mechanical, or systems. +S trong customer service, analytical, and interpersonal skills. +B e curious and excited to learn about the many disciplines of science and engineering involved in hydropower and renewables. +N egotiation and problem-solving skills and data analysis/ modeling skills. +P roficiency with Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. +A bility to travel up 50%.

For more information: Visit emrgy.com/careers/.

To apply: Send cover letter and resume to hr@emergy.com.

PRODUCTION CONTROL PLANNER - ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY HYDRO POWER EQUIPMENT Location: Mansfield Center, Connecticut Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $40,000–$60,000 RESPONSIBILITIES: +S chedule usage of production materials to ensure optimal production levels. +Q uoting, purchasing, and purchase planning. +E valuation of suppliers. +M anage stockroom and inventory levels. + I dentify and resolve problems relating to inventory and production schedule. +T rack and issue all materials and ensure appropriate locations. +U sing automated tools, report material costs to bookkeeping and finance.

REQUIREMENTS: + Competency with standard office computer applications. +A bility to read technical drawings such as machine drawings, product specifications, and similar.

For more information: E-mail hr@nustreem.com or info@nustreem.com and visit nustreem.com.

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EHS LEAN SPECIALIST Location: St. George, Utah Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: + This new role will support the team by implementing and championing safety, lean, production, and environmental initiatives. + Train and implement solutions to improve productivity, safety activities, and quality. + Lead safety program to ensure employee safety and compliance with OSHA standards. + Provide direction for the production team in the event that unsafe acts or conditions are observed. + Optimize manufacturing processes to attain maximum safety, product quality, efficiency, and repeatability.

REQUIREMENTS: + Minimum 3 years’ business operations, plant engineering, or manufacturing experience, including 1–2 years of proven success with process improvement programs. + Experience delivering OSHA-compliant safety programs in a manufacturing environment. + Understanding of welding concepts and liquid industrial coating applications. + Certification in OSHA General Industry Outreach Trainer program.

For more information: Contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com and visit www.nwpipe.com/careers.

QA MANAGER Location: Parkersburg, WV Deadline: Open until filled RESPONSIBILITIES: + Plans, coordinates, and directs quality control program for the Parkersburg manufacturing facility. + Develops and analyzes statistical data and product specifications to determine present standards and establish proposed quality and reliability expectancy of finished product. + Formulates and maintains quality control objectives coordinated with production procedures to maximize product compliance and minimize costs. + Directs workers engaged in inspection and testing activities to ensure continuous monitoring of production in progress as well as finished product.

REQUIREMENTS: + Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference and the fundamentals of plane geometry, solid geometry, and trigonometry. + Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations. + Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) from a 4‑year college or university and 5 years’ related experience or 10 years of equivalent combination of education and experience with a minimum of 5 years of managerial experience. + Requires an active AWS CWI certification.

For more information: Contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com and visit www. nwpipe.com/careers.

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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