Flow Meter Helps Idaho Grower Irrigate More Efficiently

When one of his center pivots started shutting down unexpectedly, Idaho grower, Wade Egan started looking for answers.

“This particular pivot is fed by a ditch from a nearby reservoir. The pivot was shutting down very frequently. We were getting text alerts from FieldNET showing that the machine was losing water from the ditch fed pond approximately every 1.5 hours, because there wasn’t a sufficient amount of water to keep it running,” Egan said. “We wanted to understand why this was happening – was there an insufficient water supply, bad nozzling on the pivot or something else.” 

Egan installed a Growsmart™ Magnetic Flow Meter to get a better understanding of exactly how much water the machine was using and if everything was working as designed. 

“We get billed for water at the point of delivery, and it turned out that we weren’t using all of the water we were being allocated. Now that we have a flow meter at that point of delivery, we can show them exactly how much water we used. That’s a huge benefit,” he said. “We also noticed, through FieldNET, that we had low pressure on that pump. The flow meter served as a secondary validation – showing us that the pump was not pumping according to its specs. So, we will be addressing the pump issue and retrofitting the pivot with a new nozzle package that better fits the available water and pump system.”

Egan said the flow meter also gives him the ability to see exactly how much water he uses to irrigate his crops, which helps him be more precise with the application. 

“I would highly recommend flow meters to other growers. It is the optimal sensor that allows me to see what’s really happening with my equipment,” he said. “It allows me to run as efficiently as possible.” 

For more information about Growsmart Magnetic Flow Meters, talk to your local Lindsay dealer.