AgGateway and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) are co-sponsoring the launch of a cross-industry collaboration project that will help growers better manage water and energy use by integrating weather, soil moisture, soil type, crop and other relevant data coming from a wide range of hardware and software programs. The Precision Agriculture Irrigation Leadership (PAIL) Project will improve agriculture irrigation by developing a common set of data standards and formats to convert data for use in irrigation data analysis and prescription programs.

The objective of this project is have a common set of data standards and protocols used across the agriculture industry. With those in place, industry can deliver much more efficient, easy-to-use solutions for producers, which in turn will help them use available water and energy more effectively.

Producers and manufacturers currently report that it is difficult and time-consuming to make decisions on how much water to apply when and where. That’s because weather, soil moisture and other relevant data are stored in a variety of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) formats and data sources.

Seventeen companies have already committed to participate, including Ag Connections, Agrian, AgSense, Campbell Scientific, CropMetrics, Crop IMS, Decagon Devices, Irrometer, Irrinet, John Deere, J.R. Simplot, MapShots, Monsanto, OnFarm Systems, Ranch Systems, Wysocki Produce Farms, Inc., and ZedX.

The first working session of the group took place last month; the goal is to have a draft set of data standards by AgGateway’s Annual Meeting in November, and to be able to run tests during spring plantings in 2014.

Join the Texas Project for Ag Water Efficiency outside of Harlingen, Texas for a one-day workshop on ON-FARM IRRIGATION.

This workshop will focus on low or no cost irrigation techniques and technologies to improve yields and boost net farm income.

Presenters from Texas AWE, Texas AgriLife, and NRCS will cover topics including irrigation scheduling, water use efficiency, soil water sensors, and more.

Peach growers in California may soon have better tools for saving water because of work by USDA scientists in Parlier, Calif.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Dong Wang is evaluating whether infrared sensors and thermal technology can help peach growers decide precisely when to irrigate in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Irrigation is the primary source of water for agriculture in the valley during the summer, and wells have been forced to reach deeper to bring up enough water to meet increasing demands. Peaches also require much of their water from June through September, when temperatures and demands for water are at their highest.

The results, published in Agricultural Water Management, show that the pressure chamber results were consistent with data collected by the infrared sensors, which means the sensors may be an effective tool for managing water use in peach orchards.

Valley Irrigation continues to provide water management solutions for agriculture with the formation of Valley Water Management (VWM), a new division of the Valmont company Cascade Earth Sciences (CES). Initially, Valley Water Management will enter the North American market with custom engineered pumping stations. Service for these solutions will be provided by Valley dealers – the most extensive sales network in the irrigation industry.

For producers who are building a new reservoir, drawing from a canal, or using well fields to supply their irrigation needs, Valley Water Management can offer a custom engineered, high efficiency pumping station.

Valley Water Management pumping stations come with remote control and monitoring capabilities through the Valley BaseStation2. With the BaseStation2, producers can check the status of their pump from a Smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Valley Irrigation continues to give growers more choices by introducing the new Valley DropSpan for center pivots. The DropSpan allows growers to irrigate additional acres with a center pivot by “dropping” spans upon arriving at a large obstruction in a field, allowing the center pivot to continue irrigating.

Valley Irrigation is focused on engineering new products that allow growers to expand their operations. The Valley DropSpan allows growers to get the most out of the land they already have and can easily be dropped or re-attached by one person without the use of tools.

The Valley DropSpan allows growers to put every possible acre under mechanized irrigation – acres that were never irrigated before, or were irrigated with a less efficient method, can now be picked up with a center pivot.

Valley Irrigation continues to outperform the competition by providing the most extensive product line available to help growers meet their annual goals. In addition to the DropSpan, the Bender160, Bender30, and corner machines from Valley irrigate additional acres for a low investment.