Irrigation pumps can qualify for agricultural electric rates, but the rate is tied to how the meter is used, not to whether the service is new. Here is how the 70% rule works, what the peak hours are on PG&E and SCE ag rates, and how to schedule pumps around them.
A soil moisture sensor only tells you about the soil it touches. Here is how to pick a representative spot, how close to put it to the emitter, which depths to monitor, and how to spot a bad install before it costs you a crop.
One number tells you whether your irrigation well is slowly plugging: flow divided by drawdown. Here is how to measure specific capacity, track it year to year, and know when it is time to call your driller.
Drawdown is normal. Running out of room between the pumping level and your pump intake or well screen is not. Here is how to find that margin and set a low-water alert that protects it.
A smart irrigation system in agriculture is not a greenhouse app with a farm label. It is soil and line visibility, alerts, and optional remote valve action—bought in stages you can trust.
Soil tension irrigation scheduling turns centibar readings into a when-to-water decision. Learn what the number means, why setpoints are not universal, and how multi-depth tension plus pressure keep sets honest.
Remote wells fail quietly between checks. A surveillance workflow—level, pressure/flow context, alerts, and a clear trip trigger—beats another hopeful drive to the pump house.
Remote tanks dry between checks more often than people admit. Know the failure modes, the livestock risk, and how level alerts turn a daily drive into a targeted trip.
A smart irrigation setup is not a black box. It is visibility into the root zone and the line, plus the option to open or close a supported valve without another drive across the farm.
Low pressure rarely has one cause. Walk filters, elevation, valves, demand, leaks, and the pump in order—and read pressure with flow before you lengthen every set.
A low reading at the well during irrigation feels like a water-supply crisis. Sometimes it is. Often it is normal drawdown, a longer set, a nearby well, a dirty screen, or a pump that is no longer making the same water for the same energy. This is the follow-on to Why...
The crop is off the tree. Water is still a next-year decision. Fall irrigation keeps leaves working, stores carbohydrates, and puts moisture in the profile before the first hard freeze.
Most farms already have valves. The question is who has to stand next to them. Remote irrigation valve control means a supported valve can be opened, closed, or run on a schedule from a phone or a dashboard instead of a truck. It is not a new irrigation method. It is...
If you search for a tensiometer, the first results are often the wrong tool. Some are lab instruments that measure the surface tension of a liquid. Some are industrial gadgets that measure how hard a cable or bolt is pulling. Neither one tells you whether a vine or a...
Pistachio irrigation around harvest is still Stage 3 for many blocks. Kernel fill drives splits and nut size; early cutoff hits early varieties hardest.
Walnut irrigation in August and September is not leftover summer watering. Kernels are still filling, and too much or too little water both show up on the grade sheet.
Lumo, WiseConn, and AgriLynk show up in the same irrigation automation searches. They do not do the same first job.
A soil moisture monitoring system is only as useful as the question it answers. Tension tells you how hard the plant has to work. Volumetric probes tell you how much water is in the soil.
Post-harvest almond irrigation is easy to postpone during harvest. Trees are still building next year’s flowers. Here’s why water has to come back on, and what to check first.
Why Vineyard Irrigation Scheduling Gets Complicated Vineyard irrigation scheduling is rarely as simple as deciding how many hours to run the pump. One block may show signs of water stress while another still has enough moisture. Soil type, rootstock, canopy size,...