Irrigation Leader July/August 2021

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 7 WASHINGTON STATE EDITION

july/august 2021

Chris Lynch: Forecasting Future Water Supplies in the Yakima Basin

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

CONTENTS JULY/AUGUST 2021 Volume 12 Issue 7

8

Chris Lynch: Forecasting Future Water Supplies in the Yakima Basin

5 M easuring an Entire Basin

By Kris Polly 8 C hris Lynch: Forecasting Future Water Supplies in the Yakima Basin 16 R uss Reinke: Building on Tradition and Innovation at Reinke Manufacturing 22 C huck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke 26 H al Hockersmith: Recruiting the Next Generation of Robotics at Reinke Manufacturing

36 A 40‑Year-Old Water Intake Shows the Way for FishFree Irrigation Withdrawals

By Charles Coutant THE INNOVATORS 40 G astón Dussaillant of Capta Hydro: Innovating for Irrigators Worldwide 46 H ow Acquisitions and Partnerships Are Growing CropX’s Business 50 JOB LISTINGS

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: Kurt Miller of Washington State River Partners 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

irrigationleadermagazine.com

COVER PHOTO: Chris Lynch, River Operations Engineer, Bureau of Reclamation Yakima Field Office.

Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

30 D ave Staroscik: Showing Students the Opportunities of STEM Trades at Reinke

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

By Lindsay Sugarman

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

Measuring an Entire Basin

T

he 1945 consent degree in the Yakima basin established a method of distributing water to a variety of classes of water rightholders. However, to do this, a measure of the total water supply available in the basin was required. Chris Lynch, the river operations engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Yakima Field Office, is in charge of the impressive feat of carrying out this yearly estimate. We learn more about it in this month’s cover interview.

We also feature several individuals from Reinke Manufacturing, which in addition to supplying farmers with center pivots, computerized control systems, and other equipment, supports its local community by sponsoring high school and college courses in welding, machining, and robotics.

Russ Reinke, Reinke’s first vice president, tells us 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.

By Kris Polly

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.

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

CLIMATE CHANGE INTENSIFIES WATER STRESS ON OUR COMMUNITIES BE PART OF THE SOLUTION WATER STUDIES ONLINE CERTIFICATE

msudenver.edu/water-studies-online irrigationleadermagazine.com

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

|5

ADVERTISEMENT

Rugged Trash Rakes and Trash Racks

Keep water intakes free from debris and hassles.

on | Pulp, Paper & Steel Mills | Municipal Generati Water Power Int

Rugged trash racks and rakers keep water intakes free from debris and hassle.

Our innovative debris capture solutions were developed at our own hydroelectric facilities. So, we mean it when we say... ”we use what we sell, every day.” Our trash racks and trash rakes are easy to install, operate and maintain.

Our HDPE trash racks are practically maintenance free, designed to resist rust, corrosion, mussels and other marine life. Our patented electro-mechanical rakers have no hydraulics to maintain so they provide years of flawless performance. *Electro-mechanical Trash Raker U.S. Patent No. 7,815,811 & 9,539,528

akes | Wastew at e

r Treatment Plants | Flood Control Pump Sta

ti o ns

For inquiries, please contact Shane Scott at 360.601.2391 or at shane@sscottandassociates.com

ADVERTISEMENT

NC man dies after boat gets sucked into raging flow of dam floodgate June 4, 2018 (Also: July 2019*, May 2020, November 2020)

Public Safety Around Dams - Let’s Get Started “a licensee must install, operate, and maintain any signs, lights, sirens, barriers, or other safety devices that may reasonably be necessary or desirable to warn the public of fluctuations in

Worthington Public Safety Solutions Call

l

1.800.899.2977

Click

flow from the project or otherwise to protect the public in the use of the project lands and waters” Section 10c, Part 12 of the Federal Power Act

See what happens when a boat gets too close to an open floodgate.

l

tuffboom.com

Chris Lynch: Forecasting Future Water Supplies in the Yakima Basin

Lake Cle Elum, one of the five reservoirs on the Yakima system.

A

8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

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

Chris Lynch: I was born and raised for 10 years on a small farm in Pennsylvania before moving to Colorado. There, I came to understand the value of water because it was arid. I graduated from Colorado State University’s civil engineering master’s degree program with an emphasis on hydraulics and hydrology. I got my first job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Seattle, where I worked in hydrology and water management for 12 years. I then moved over to the drier side of the state of Washington, east of the Cascade Mountains in the Yakima basin. I’ve been here for about 24 years, managing the water in the Yakima basin and doing studies to improve operations, water supplies, and fish flows. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

s water becomes increasingly scarce across the West, the need to accurately forecast how much will be available is becoming ever more crucial to efficient water management. The Bureau of Reclamation’s Yakima Field Office has a distinctive method of forecasting water supply known as the Total Water Supply Available (TWSA) forecast. Born out of litigation and the Yakima basin’s unique characteristics, the system allows Reclamation to predict how much water will be available in total, how much will be available for each of the various water rights in the basin, and how much will be available for fish conservation and other uses. In this interview, Chris Lynch, the river operations engineer for the Yakima Field Office, tells Irrigation Leader how the forecast system came to be, how water supply levels are calculated, and how the system allows the field office to better serve all the users who depend on the Yakima for their water needs.

The Pigtail Peak snotel station.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the history of the TWSA forecast.

Chris Lynch: The concept arose in 1945 out of a lawsuit.

The court decision is known as the 1945 consent decree.

The basic issue was the priority of distribution of storage water. The basin followed prior appropriation doctrine, but a large number of the water rights, often referred to as junior rights, have a priority date of May 10, 1905, the date of the authorization of the Yakima Project. The other class of rights, often referred to as senior rights, have priority dates earlier than May 10, 1905. The 1945 consent decree states that the senior rightholders receive their water first from the total water supply, including storage water, and the junior rightholders receive whatever remains of the total water supply. The senior rights are nonproratable, while the junior rights are proratable. Junior rightholders share any shortage equally. To make these calculations, a method of determining the total water supply was necessary.

The water supply was generally healthy from 1945 to 1972.

It wasn’t until 1973, when the Yakima basin was in a significant drought and was running out of water, that Reclamation had to dust off the TWSA method and start using it.

Irrigation Leader: How is the TWSA determined?

Chris Lynch: The TWSA has three components. The first is system storage: the storage level in the five reservoirs that make up the system on the first of the month for which we’re running the TWSA. Of the three components, only system storage is known instead of estimated.

The second component is an estimate of return flow from the first of the month through the end of September, based on the historical experience of the irrigation districts in certain irrigationleadermagazine.com

water supply conditions. There is a bit of a feedback loop, because return flow relies on the water supply in general. We run the TWSA estimate, and if it’s a drought year, we may adjust the estimated return flow downward. If it’s a wet year, we may increase the estimated return flow a bit.

The third component, and the main forecasted part, is the runoff forecast above the Yakima River near Parker, located just below the city of Yakima. We estimate all the runoff from the mountains, through the reservoirs, and from the whole area above the Yakima River near Parker.

Irrigation Leader: Does the return flow come from irrigation use?

Chris Lynch: Exactly, and that’s why the return flow varies with the water supply and are lower in dry years. During a shortage, the proratable districts won’t get as much water, and consequently there won’t be as much going out on the fields or flowing through their canals, and in turn there will not be as much water returning to the river. In good water supply years, the irrigators will have more water, which can result in more return flow.

Irrigation Leader: How do you measure things like snowpack and predict seasonal precipitation?

Chris Lynch: Snowpack is a really good metric to use for the runoff forecast because it is like money in the bank, saved up all winter and released in the spring and summer. Along with snow runoff forecasts, we also use precipitation and flow data. We have what we call snotel stations located in the mountains that record and feed us hourly precipitation and snow water data (that is, data on the amount of water in the snowpack). We work closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which runs most of the July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

|9

From left to right, Lake Kachess and Lake Keechelus, two of the five reservoirs in the Yakima system.

Irrigation Leader: What is the yearly cycle of the TWSA forecast?

10 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

Chris Lynch: We do a forecast at the beginning of each month from April to July. We will also add forecasts in August and September during water-short years when we need to refine the distribution of water. We try to get the forecast out to the public as early as possible each month, but we must wait until after the first of the month to get all the necessary data. In April and May, the TWSA is used to set the volume of water released from the reservoirs for spring outmigration flows for fish. We also use the TWSA forecast to set the summer minimum instream flow at the Yakima River near Parker gage.

Irrigation Leader: What operational decisions does Reclamation make on the basis of the forecast?

Chris Lynch: Of course, one of the major decisions is setting the proratable irrigation districts’ water supply. The irrigation water supply is equal to the TWSA minus two estimated factors: the water that will flow out of the basin unused by irrigation and the amount of water left in the reservoirs on September 30. We then subtract the senior rightholders’ water from the irrigation water supply and are left with the water available for the juniors. If it’s less than their entitlements—a shortage—we divide it by their entitlements to define the proration rate. For example, in 2005, it was 42 percent. This rate is then applied to each proratable irrigation district’s entitlement to determine its individual water supply for the season. The irrigation districts then use that in their own decisions and planning.

We also determine the minimum instream target flow for the Yakima River near Parker, as defined in title 12 of irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

snotel sites. Folks at the Yakima Field Office also go out into the mountains monthly in winter and manually measure the snow water to verify that the automated numbers coming in are accurate. We also have snow courses that do not have automated recording devices, so we must go out and manually measure the amount of water in the snowpack.

Most of the runoff forecasts use snow data, precipitation data, and antecedent flow data. Our colleagues in Reclamation’s Columbia–Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Boise produce a main numerical forecast using a multiple linear regression method. We also use runoff forecasts produced by the NRCS and the National Weather Service’s Northwest River Forecast Center. We use all these to develop the runoff forecast for the TWSA estimate. We make both low and high runoff forecasts to help account for uncertainties and estimate errors. The low-end forecast and the TWSA based on it are of particular interest to the irrigators for contingency planning in dry years.

It is difficult to forecast future precipitation beyond about 10 days, and forecasts of 10 days or more are only used in the Northwest River Forecast Center’s runoff forecast. We do look at seasonal precipitation and temperature forecasts made by the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. These are not used directly in formulating the TWSA forecast, but are primarily used in reservoir modeling and reservoir operations planning for minimum instream flow, outmigration flow, and flood control operations.

the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Program legislation. The lower the water supply, the lower the target flow; the higher the water supply, the higher the target flow.

As I said earlier, we also use the TWSA to determine volumes of water we release in April and May for fish outmigration. The higher the TWSA, the more water we will release.

The other factor that comes into play in all this is the date when the allocation begins. In a water-short year, prorationing begins when the irrigation districts’ demand is greater than the amount of water that is incidentally available in the river. When the districts’ demand outstrips the amount of water available, we must release water from the reservoirs.

When that date, known as the proration date, is set, we rerun the TWSA for the period from the proration date to September 30. We will actually do two each month thereafter.

The main forecast of interest for setting the proration rate covers the period from the date prorationing begins to September 30. We also continue to do the first-of-the-month to September 30 forecasts for comparison to other years and to set target flows. For example, if prorationing begins on May 7, then each month after that, the main forecast will cover the period from May 7 to September 30. This will define the irrigation districts’ water budget for the season.

We update it each month, even though the period remains the same, because our estimate of the runoff portion of the TWSA will improve as the season progresses and the supply becomes firmer. This also allows the districts to better manage their allocation. If we kept switching the start date, then the water they would have saved would be redistributed to everybody else and not necessarily benefit them.

Irrigation Leader: What decisions do farmers, irrigation districts, and other water users make on the basis of the forecast?

Chris Lynch: What I’ve heard for many years is that the districts that have a water shortage will use the TWSA forecast to lay out a plan to make it through the year with as little damage to their stakeholders as possible. They’ll have their board meetings and determine how they will budget their water—for instance, whether they will turn off their water for a period early in the season to save water or run steady at a certain rate and exhaust their supply before the end of the season. The farmers give their irrigation district managers feedback on how they prefer the water be managed based on when they really need the water and when they might be able to survive not having it. This is strongly influenced by the predominant crops that are grown in a particular district.

Irrigation Leader: Has the TWSA process needed to be updated or altered based on changing weather climatic conditions?

the TWSA may need to be improved or adapted as we see different climatic cycles. I mentioned earlier that there were no significant droughts from 1945 to 1972, but several in the 1970s, some minor ones in the 1980s, and some severe ones in the 1990s and 2000s. We go through cycles, and of course, one of our concerns is climate change in the future. Climatic cycles and climate change need to be considered in the runoff forecast portion of the TWSA. If we have earlier snow melt, we may need better early forecasts. It may also require an earlier proration date, although that’s not something that would call for a change in the method.

Irrigation Leader: Have there been any new technologies that have affected how you develop or use the forecast?

Chris Lynch: We are working with our regional office to update our runoff forecasts; we’re always hoping to do a better job on that side of things. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is providing a new technology to estimate snow coverage in the basin using satellite imaging combined with snotel station data. There are a finite number of snotel stations providing point measurements of snow water spread throughout and near the basin, so they provide only a sample, a representation, of how much snow water is actually in the mountains. We’re developing forecasts using the new snow coverage maps, which in a sense provide more information on the actual water stored in the snow. In 2020, the satellite imaging technology allowed us to see that we didn’t have as much lowelevation snow as our snotel stations indicated but did have more high-elevation snow. That improved our forecasting.

In addition, our regional office has developed a new tool that puts all the basin data in one place, which will help us reanalyze our old forecasts and develop new methods that we hope will improve our runoff forecasting.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future of the TWSA forecast?

Chris Lynch: The TWSA forecast works well for the way the basin is set up right now. I would like to see continued improvements in the runoff forecasting methodology, including improvements based on the snow coverage maps and possibly a more empirical consideration of return flow.

If new storage projects are built in the basin, we need to protect existing water rights and preserve the total water supply process to make sure existing rights are not negatively affected by the implementation of new projects. IL Chris Lynch is the river operations engineer at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Yakima Field Office. He can be reached at clynch@usbr.gov.

Chris Lynch: Not really. It’s just a way to identify how much water is in the basin. However, the runoff forecast part of irrigationleadermagazine.com

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 11

ADVERTISEMENT

Keeping the Water Flowing in 2021

Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District is making $6 million in upgrades thanks to several financing partners including: • North Cascades Bank • Jim Nelson, Partner at D.A. Davison • Lee Marchisio, Bond Counsel at Foster Pepper

Look for updates here as progress continues on our Main Booster Plant: – Enclosed climate controlled switchgear – Updated DC circuitry for synchronous motors – New wires – New roof ventilation to drop summer hi temps of 140 degrees – Finish our ongoing meter replacement with remote read metering – Replacement of piping under new roadways.

Phone #: (509) 884-4042 Fax #: (509) 884-8763 Email: Office@gwid.org

Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District Office Monday through Thursday 7:00am–4:30pm Fridays 8:00am–12:00pm

3300 SE 8th Street Wenatchee WA 98802 US

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The Benefits of Argos Algaecide Are Clear to See ARGOS, a premier 9% chelated copper algaecide and aquatic herbicide, provides an excellent maintenance program as a stand-alone active ingredient or in rotation with MAGNACIDE™ H Aquatic Herbicide.

ARGOS is a proven partner in Alligare’s aquatic tool box of canal maintenance products including IMOX™, FLUMIGARD™ and Fluridone. Contact your Alligare Aquatic Technical Specialist for support in developing effective and economical aquatic weed and algae programs for your individual situation.

Call 888-255-4427 to Order Argos Today!

BEFORE

2019. Bakersfield, CA, 12 ac ft pond (process water from a water treatment plant). Algae was 2-3” thick at the start. Water is used to irrigate surrounding turf and vegetation at a public sports complex. ARGOS was applied @ 1 ppm by boat (36 gals) with a follow up treatment after 2 weeks with a 10% solution (16 gals) applied with a high-pressure sprayer around the edges to catch any remaining algae.

Alligare Leads the Way With Our Family of Vegetation Management Solutions.

Argos • IMOX™ • FLUMIGARD™ • Fluridone • MAGNACIDE™ H 2,4-D Amine • Diquat • Ecomazapyr 2SL • Glyphosate 5.4 • Triclopyr 3SL

Alligare.com

(888) 255-4427

A Member of ADAMA Consumer & Professional Solutions

ADVERTISEMENT

We can Assura you our software will make your life simpler.

We know Irrigation Districts We have a very flexible solution We play nicely with others via our API We provide a return on investment “Assura has provided RWCD with the ability to meet our operational challenges in real time and the opportunity to address them in a 21st century environment.”

- Shane Leonard GM, Roosevelt Water Conservation District

 hello@assurasoftware.com

1(480)-477-9283

assurasoftware.com

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.

16 | 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

| 17

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?

18 | 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.

July/August 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 19

ADVERTISEMENT

PikoMeter® A New Generation of Water Control All-in-one SCADA automated control gate and meter The PikoMeter is an integrated water management actuator that enables you to remotely manage water levels and flow rates in your water distribution and drainage networks. It provides realtime monitoring of water level and flow rate, and automatically manages levels and flows using control presets. The PikoMeter easily retrofits to existing headwall and culvert structures, and Sonaray® technology means it does not have the upstream and downstream flow stabilization requirements of traditional meters.

Remote management Readily integrates into existing enterpise SCADA networks, and can also be supplied with secure cloud-based interfaces.

Call 1877-440-6080 email inquiry@rubiconwater.com California contractor’s licence number 984209

Accuracy across a wide flow range Measures at high and very low flow rates with an accuracy of ±2.5% in accordance with ISO 4064/OIML R 49.

www.rubiconwater.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Chuck Hatzenbuehler: Training Future Welders at Reinke

Chuck Hatzenbuehler’s welding class at Deshler High School.

P

22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

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

| 23

ADVERTISEMENT

IN STOCK - SAME DAY SHIPMENT

Still Your Best Value in Irrigation Meters

AG3000 Flanged Magmeter • Standard Pulse Output • 5 Year Warranty & 5 Year Battery Life • Unobstructed Flow • Built-in Data Logger Available

AG90 Saddle Magmeter

• Direct Replacement for Propeller Meters • No Parts or Bearings to Rebuild • Durable & Easy to Install

Telemetry Ready

PV30 Vertical Upflow Propeller Meter PO12 Open Flow Propeller Meter Long-life, Water-lubricated Ceramic Bearing • Easy to Read, Stabilized, Non-bounce Graphic Display • Replacement for Other Brands • Pulse Output Standard •

Seametrics & TechnoFlo - Your Agricultural Meter Experts Count on TechnoFlo to meet any of your hard-to-measure and special applications

Contact TECHNOFLO SYSTEMS for details www.technoflo.com Call (559) 783-1207

BUILT IN THE USA

ADVERTISEMENT

U N L E A S H I N G WA T E R ’S N A T U R A L P O W E R Delivering modular, scalable hydropower without the need for construction

Reliable, predictable power around the clock, 5kW - 1MW Generate new revenue from existing water infrastructure without impacting its primary role.

Cost effective, long life energy asset that’s simple to install and maintain

Emrgy’s hydro turbines have been designed, tested and are now being deployed in New Zealand. For further information contact Sheridan Douglas, Sales Manager.

E m a i l : S h e r i d a n @ e m r g y. c o m . a u

M o b i l e : + 61 4 4 8 27514 2

w w w . e m r g y. c o m . a u

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

A

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

26 | 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

| 27

ADVERTISEMENT

Canal3 provides superior puncture priorities for various site conditions from smooth to rough subgrades and is available in several styles. Irrigation districts and contractors agree that the ease of installing Canal3 over other liners is not only cost effective but also reduces installation time by using our wider width materials.

No over excavating required Fast installation Inert to biological degradation

HUESKER Solution: Canal3

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

30 | 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

| 31

ADVERTISEMENT

EXISTING GATE

AUTOMATION Bolt-on Solutions for Existing Canal Gates

Make the most of existing equipment. The Control Design Gate Motorization Kit (CD-GMK) is a bolt-on solution for most any canal gate. This gate is a flexible package that offers all of the automation, motorization, and communications equipment to have a fully articulated, remotely automated gate solution. The gate kit cuts down on time usage, vehicle cost, and greatly decreases the manual operations required to run a canal.

SCAN THIS CODE WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE CAMERA TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GATE MOTORIZATION KITS.

1-833-932-7323 info@cdione.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Control weeds and algae in irrigation canals with the Cascade-Teton App

Easy to use Superior control and longevity compared to other treatment options Performance is not impacted by water quality or plant density Versatile treatment regimens

Get accurate rates Find product information Check out the plant ID

Available at: UPLaquatics.com

Proven Results Backed by Science Cascade available in 2.5 and 250 gallon containers.

Teton available in 2.5, 125 and 250 gallon containers.

For details on Cascade-Teton order program: Northwest Territory Manager

Southwest Territory Manager

Craig Smith

Nathan Hicks

561-301-8326 craig.smith@upl-ltd.com

707-372-4908 nathan.hicks@upl-ltd.com

Cascade and Teton are trademark products of UPL NA INC.

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

34 | 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

If you have debris in your water... We can remove it.

International Water Screens Designs, Manufactures and Installs Traveling Screens or Fish Screening systems for your specific need.

CONTACT RICH GARGAN (661) 979-1815 iwsrich@sbcglobal.net

CHRIS GARGAN (661) 979-7206 iwschris@sbcglobal.net

JOEL IRVING (310) 614-4681 iwsjoel@sbcglobal.net

International Water Screens 11007 Ainswick Dr. Bakersfield CA 93311 w: internationalwaterscreens.com Phone: (661)-746-7959

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.

36 | 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bridging the gap between idea + achievement At HDR, we’re helping our clients push open the doors to what’s possible, every day. We can help you navigate the complexity of planning, designing, constructing, managing and operating your water supply facilities.

Contact Us: Blaine Dwyer | blaine.dwyer@hdrinc.com

hdrinc.com

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

WITH OVER 2 MILLION MILES OF PVC IN SERVICE THROUGHOUT NORTH AMERICA, IT’S EASY TO SEE THAT IT’S A TRUSTED PIPING SOLUTION THAT WORKS FOR A LONG TIME.

PVC leads all other piping materials in sustainability. Its durability, cleanliness and energy efficient manufacturing and transportation have made it the material of choice for water and waste water applications.

A study by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation put the life expectancy of PVC pipe at more than 110 years which truly shows that sustainability is at work.

DPCPIPE.COM | 800.PVC.

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

40 | 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

| 41

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?

42 | 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

| 43

ADVERTISEMENT

Quality Engineered Steel & Precast Concrete Pipe Leading the nation in reliable water transmission solutions since 1966.

Northwest Pipe Company is the most experienced manufacturer of engineered water transmission systems in North America. Bar none.

Our steel water pipe is manufactured to order, made to last, and easy to install. Our reinforced concrete pipe marries the best of steel and concrete, delivering value and durability in a precast solution. With locations across the continent, we’re nearby and ready to support your project through design, specification, installation, and testing.

A legacy grounded in water.

Questions about a project? Contact us!

ENGINEERED STEEL

RCP & PRECAST

Southwest Region Michael LaBroad mlabroad@nwpipe.com 909-839-3978 | 714-602-6022

Texas Region William Ast wast@nwpipe.com 817-304-8991

Northwest & Midwest Region Neal Kelemen nkelemen@nwpipe.com 303-478-8342

Atlantic Region Gary Lewis glewis@nwpipe.com 614-537-7549

Geneva Pipe Kevin Martin kmartin@genevapipe.com 801-494-0092 801-995-0761

NWPIPE.COM

ADVERTISEMENT

INNOVATIVE HYDRO EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER NuTURBINE™

Modular & scalable Kaplan turbine.

Optimized for your sites performance.

NuTECH Controller™

Patented turbine intelligence control system add on. Increase efficiency by up to 20%

NuCONTAINER™

Replacing the classic powerhouse.

A modular, prefabricated, standard shipping container powerhouse.

Visit Us At

HYDROVISION & CLEAN CURRENTS

Questions?

Contact Us! Info@NuSTREEM.com 860-724-2868

NUSTREEM.COM

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.

46 | 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

| 47

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?

48 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CROPX.

An irrigation prescription provided by CropX’s software.

ADVERTISEMENT

Israel Water Education and Trade Tour October 3–13, 2021 REGISTER NOW!

Please save the date for this tour, sponsored by Irrigation Leader magazine and operated

by Imagine Tours and Travel, LLC. $4,707.00 per attendee (with airfare from Dulles airport) $4,319.00 per attendee (without airfare) All posted prices, services, and destinations are subject to the terms and conditions of the participant agreement.

To view, please visit http://irrigationleadermagazine.com/israel_tour/.

Irrigation Leader magazine is published by Water Strategies LLC.

Services included in the package: • meeting and assistance at Ben Gurion Airport on arrival • transfer to/from Ben Gurion airport • licensed English-speaking guide for all transfers and sightseeing days • luxury air-conditioned coach • entrance fees for all visits and tours • eight nights of hotel accommodation • breakfasts and dinners at hotels and farewell dinner at local restaurant

Target the New Zealand market

Target the New Zealand market with IrrigationNZ News – a quarterly publication reaching irrigators, farmers, growers, and industry. Contact our team today: Phone +64 3 341 2225 or email admin@irrigationnz.co.nz

www.irrigationnz.co.nz

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

50 | 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.

.

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.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

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

| 51

Upcoming Events July 6–8 Irrigation Australia, Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, Australia July 6–12 International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, 24th Congress & 71st International Executive Council Meeting, Sydney, Australia July 9–12 National Association of Counties, Annual Conference and Expo, Prince George’s County, MD, and virtual July 12–13 North Dakota Water Resource Districts Association, Summer Meeting and North Dakota Water Education Foundation Executive Briefing, Dickinson, ND July 13–15 North Dakota Water Users Association, Summer Meeting, Grand Forks, ND July 19–21 American Water Resources Association, Virtual Summer Conference: Connecting Land and Water for Healthy Communities (virtual) August 3–5 National Conference of State Legislatures, Legislative Policy Base Camp (virtual) August 3–6 World’s Large Rivers Conference, Moscow, Russia, and virtual August 9–11 8th International Conference on Flood Management, Iowa City, IA August 10–12 National Water Resources Association, Western Water Tour of the Columbia Basin, Portland, OR August 15–17 Idaho Water Users Association, Water Law and Resource Issues Seminar, Sun Valley, ID August 24–26 Colorado Water Congress, Summer Conference, Steamboat Springs, CO September 13–16 National Rural Water Association, WaterPro Conference, Milwaukee, WI September 14 Husker Harvest Days, Grand Island, NE September 21–23 Hydrovision International, Spokane, WA September 22–29 National Drilling Association, Convention, Charlotte, NC September 26–28 Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, Natural Resources Districts Annual Conference, Kearney, NE September TBD Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, Annual Meeting and Water Conference, TBD October 12–13 Nevada Water Resources Association, Minerals and Mine Water Management Symposium, Sparks, NV October 13–15 National Association of Counties, Western Interstate Region Conference, Salt Lake County, UT October 29 Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, H2Open Golf Tournament, Casa Grande, AZ

Past issues of Irrigation Leader are archived at irrigationleadermagazine.com /IrrigationLeader

@IrrigationLeadr

irrigationleader

irrigationleadermagazine.com