Award-Winning Grower Says FieldNET Helped Him Produce an Exceptional Crop

Congratulations to Kansas grower (and Zimmatic customer) Kyle Amerin, who recently was named one of two 2018 Top Producers by the Ponderosa High Plains Dairy.

“I had a really great year,” Amerin said. “They said my corn crop was exceptional – better quality than most of the corn they usually see.”

A fourth generation grower and graduate of Kansas State University, Kyle rents 500 acres of the family’s 6,000-acre operation near Plains, Kansas. He works with his dad, Gerald, and brother, Ben, to grow corn, wheat, sorghum, cotton and soybeans. This year, they decided to add FieldNET^® and FieldNET Advisor^® to two of the 23 center pivots that work over their fields. 

“We decided to try FieldNET Advisor to see if we could save water – especially using variable rate irrigation (VRI),” Amerin said. “One of our pivots has a house in its path, so it needs to be reversed. I was putting double amounts of water on the reversing side and half of what was needed on the other side. With FieldNET and VRI, I could adjust the pivot speed to even out the application. It definitely helped me spread out water more efficiently.” 

With FieldNET, Amerin also is able to remotely monitor and control his irrigation system – eliminating time consuming trips to the field. And, with FieldNET Advisor, he knows when, where and how much to irrigate.

“I definitely watered completely differently with FieldNET Advisor,” he said. “Normally, we just turn on the pivot and leave it on. This year, we turned it off when we needed to – like when it rained – and FieldNET Advisor gave us a really good idea of when we needed to turn them back on. That was very useful.”

Amerin said the investment in FieldNET technology helped earn Top Producer honors and boosted his bottom line.

“I saved quite a bit of water – only used about 60 percent of my allotment this year. Normally, I use about 100 percent,” he said. “My yield also increased – from 230 bushels of corn to 270 bushels. Like I said, it was a really great year.”

Amerin said he plans to add FieldNET technology to two more pivots next year and even more in the future.

“It helps me put down the right amount of water at the right time,” he said. “I definitely think it’s a good thing for our operation – and I would recommend it to other growers, too.” 

For more information about FieldNET and FieldNET Advisor, talk to your local Zimmatic dealer or visit www.myfieldnet.com.