Sneak Peek: Alert Features in NetIrrigate 3.0

Published December 16, 2008 NetIrrigate 0 Comments

As most of our customers know, the NetIrrigate® 3.0 web software will be launched on February 28th, 2009.  Over the next several weeks, we’ll be posting screen shots and discussing new features on our company blog. 

 

One improvement we’re particularly excited about is our “Alert Management”.  Presently, only four types of alert events can be configured.  With the release of NetIrrigate® 3.0, thirteen different events can be trapped and configured with alerts.  (Hopefully we aren’t cursing ourselves with bad luck).  Alerts can now be configured for the following events:

 

1. When my NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box BOOTS UP
2. When the Primary AC POWER SOURCE FAILS
3. When my system encounters a SAFETY STOP
4. When my AUXILARY INPUT turns on
5. When my NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box receives a REMOTE SHUTDOWN call
6. When the Primary DC POWER SOURCE FAILS
7. When FLOW STARTS on INPUT 1
8. When FLOW IS PERIODICALLY REPORTED on INPUT 1
9. When FLOW STOPS on INPUT 1
10. When FLOW STARTS on INPUT 2
11. When FLOW IS PERIODICALLY REPORTED on INPUT 2
12. When FLOW STOPS on INPUT 2:
13. When my NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box unexpectedly STOPS TRANSMITTING DATA

 

Note that the new version of our hardware contains dual pulse inputs so multiple flow meters can be monitored with a single telemetry box.  The second pulse input is ideal for digital rain gauges or fertigation meters.

 

Below is a screen shot of the new user interface:

Alert Management
Alert Management

 The slide menus will provide for easy alert navigation.  In addition, we’ve added a “test” button so users can test and sample an alert target before it’s saved.

Can Conservation Incentives Actually Increase Water Use?

Published November 25, 2008 Drip Irrigation , Water Conservation 0 Comments

Frank A. Ward (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business, New Mexico State University) and Manuel Pulido-Velazquez (Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering–Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Polite´ cnica de Valencia) recently published a scholarly article which suggests that water conservation subsidies will not provide farmers with economic incentives to reduce water depletion.  A focus of the study was drip irrigation.  While its benefits were discussed, the research suggests drip irrigation does not necessarily save water when considered from a basin scale.  The entire scholarly article can be read at:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/11/17/0805554105.full.pdf+html?sid=3888373b-c7b9-4b44-9aa5-dd95468acd29

Net Irrigate commends Ward and Pulido-Velazquez for their research efforts.  In addition to the insightful content, one particular paragraph of their report struck a cord with us:

“What measures can be taken to promote real water savings?
A first step could be accurate accounting of basinwide water use.
Water accounting analyzes use, depletion, and productivity of
water at the basin scale*. Accurate accounting and measurement
of water use can help identify opportunities for water
savings, increase water productivity, and improve the rationale
for water allocation among uses*.”

*Molden D (2007) Water For Food, Water For Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (Earthscan, London). 

At Net Irrigate, we take water accounting seriously.  Our telemetry solutions coupled with our web based reporting and data analysis tools store up to five years of historical data and provide high degrees of granularity.  Our graphical components make analyzing data easy.  What good are flow meter and conservation programs if stakeholders cannot have timely access to data?  Proactive measures can better be taken when data is in workable formats and free from lags.

Water Problems Not Only for the West

Published November 9, 2008 Water Conservation 0 Comments
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Cynthia Barnett’s book Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S. coupled with her recent presentation at the University of Central Florida hopefully will make Florida growers aware of irrigation technologies which can add both convenience and conservation to their operations. 

In her presentation at UCF, Ms. Barnett noted that flood irrigation techniques dominate Florida because of cost.  She also stated that “Helping farmers achieve efficiency could give us millions of gallons of water per day.”  Likewise, Ms. Barnett stated that micro-irrigation may serve as a possible conservation solution.

We at Net Irrigate agree with Ms. Barnett’s sentiment.  We would also like to add that in addition to not applying water directly to the root zone; flood irrigation is wasteful because it presently requires the human eye to discern when water has covered an entire field.   In many areas, such as the mid-south, it is not uncommon for a farmer to have to manage at least twenty flood flow irrigation pumps.   Due to the spread out geographic nature of agriculture, water runoffs typically occur because farmers must travel to flood irrigated fields to determine if irrigation has completed.  Additionally, farmers then must physically shut down the associated pump.  Because agriculture is a time consuming business, it may be several hours before a farmer can travel to a field to discern optimal irrigation and shut down a pump.  The detrimental result is in unnecessary pumping hours and wasted water.
 
While not nearly as efficient as an entire micro-irrigation system, the NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box is a much more inexpensive solution which can conserve water, energy, and add convenience to a farming operation.  The NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box has been installed on several flood irrigation systems in Southeast Missouri and Arkansas.  When water arrives to certain points in the field, a text message or phone call is sent to the grower.  The grower may then flip out his/her cell phone and shut down their pump from anywhere!

Net Irrigate thanks Ms. Barnett for making more people aware of the potential crisis situation facing our nation and commend her on her research efforts thus far.

Thanks to our visitors at the 2008 Irrigation Show

Published November 5, 2008 Customers 0 Comments
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To those of you who stopped by to visit booth 785 at the 2008 Annual Irrigation Show, Net Irrigate thanks you for your time.  We received some wonderful questions and gained new insights into some unique customer needs.  We were also excited to have so many international visitors.  Individuals traveling from Chile, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Italy, the UAE, and India provided us with some spectacular discussions. 

Booth 785

Booth 785

Net Irrigate looks forward to next year’s show and thanks the Irrigation Association for continuing this event.

Tools for Measuring Fertigation

Published October 25, 2008 Drip Irrigation 0 Comments
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The October 15th Southwest Farm Press Article entitled System, nutrient management are keys to drip irrigation success discusses one of the caveats of drip irrigation. As a possible remedial strategy, the article suggests the process of injecting fertilizer through your drip irrigation system.

While some best practices were suggested in the article, technologies for measuring fertigation were not discussed in great detail. Metering technology can be quite beneficial in applying proper amounts. SeaMetrics manufactures Low-Flow Fertigation meters that can be used in conjunction with popular systems such as those from Agri-Jet. The beauty of these meters is that they are fully compatible with the NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box Version 3.0. In addition to monitoring your water application amounts to each zone within your drip irrigated field, you can also monitor your fertigation at www.netirrigate.com. Since our new telemetry box offers dual meter inputs, irrigation AND fertigation data can now be at your fingertips.

Without Water, “Joe the Plumber” is Out of a Job

Published October 17, 2008 Government , Water Conservation 0 Comments

The presidential debate on October 15th made “Joe the Plumber” famous. But little was discussed about the most important aspect of plumbing: WATER. As both candidates talked about cutting the budget with hatchets and scalpels, I began to wonder what the future of the U.S. Water and Wastewater Agricultural Segment Budget might be! For those of you unfamiliar with this segment of the federal water budget, I’ll provide a quick overview…

The water budget allocated for the agricultural segment is mostly used to improve the conditions of water systems used for farming and rural consumption. A primary goal of the funds is to reduce water costs and improve water quality for rural users. The 2008 budget is around $2.9 Billion and is comprised of the following seven entities which consume the respective amounts:

The majority of the expenditures are in the forms of loans and grants to address water system improvements. For example, the Rural Utilities Service provided funding for construction projects such as: new water lines, pumping stations, wells, storage tanks, and treatment plants.

As competition for water resources continues to increase in Western States, I urge our presidential candidates to not lose sight of mankind’s most precious resource as they plan their budget cuts. Likewise, I encourage stakeholders to gain an understanding of how these dollars might be being spent in your agricultural community by contacting local representatives of the agencies listed above.

Thanks to our customers!

Published October 12, 2008 Customers , NetIrrigate 0 Comments

With the heavy irrigation season winding down, we’d like to thank our customers for their feedback.  2008 has been a great year for Net Irrigate thus far.  As we’ve further expanded into new regions, we’ve increased our knowledge on the differing customer needs specific to geographic areas.  Spectacular input from our customers has allowed us to build an even better NetIrrigate® Telemetry Box loaded with the most asked for features for 2009.  We’ll also be releasing a new version of our web based software on January 31st of the New Year. 

In the mean time, we encourage existing and potential customers to learn more about our technology innovations at the recently upgraded netirrigate.com website.  We also hope to visit with many of you at the upcoming 2008 Annual Irrigation Show in Anaheim, California. 

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