Some Nebraska farmers are using technology to manage their pivot irrigation systems

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — As the years pass by, more and more technology seems to be blending with the agricultural needs of growers. There's a particular type of technology helping farmers with their center-pivot irrigation systems.

Around three years ago, Autonomous Pivot, an Israeli-based company, created a ground-penetrating radar that attaches to the pivots and can map out subsoil moisture across the fields. According to the company, in 2021, they installed and serviced over 100 systems farming across the Midwest.

Co-owner of Prairie Fire Ag Solutions, Amy Harsch, said this is an amazing tool for growers.

"The white box, which is the ground-penetrating radar, is giving a continuous reading of moisture in the dry parts of the field," Harsch said. "There are other technologies out there that help with soil moisture, which are fantastic, but they only read one spot on the field."

Harsch said that one field can have many different types of soil, and this type of technology recognizes that.

“This is adjusting and making changes to that and reading that as it’s going thought," Harsch added. "It also knows what crop is in there, so that being said, we can adjust what the irrigation recommendations are on it."

The device is also able to change the rate the pivot is putting on as it’s going through the field. The information gets broken down into pie pieces, and growers can see everything through a phone app.

“If they have multiple fields with this system on it, all the fields will show up on their dashboard in the app," Harsch said.

When the growers purchase the system, they are also are buying the access to the app . The system is $2,500 per year.

“It’s really important for farmers to look at what type of technology works on their farm, especially when it comes to irrigating and finding out what sensors are available to help us be better managers," said Giltner farmer Brandon Hunnicutt.

Hunnicutt said he has been using this technology for three years, and each year, he keeps attaching the system to more pivots.

“We are able to see different areas of the field that we normally wouldn’t, so it really helps us understand what we are doing irrigation wise," Hunnicutt. said.

Harsch explained that the system includes a camera, which allows growers to see all the spots on the fields with high-resolution images. She said there are two lenses on the camera, a wide and a narrow lens. Harsch added that the narrower lens is good enough that growers can see insects on the leaves.

“It gives a bird’s-eye view of the crop, so it's taking pictures as the pivot progresses through the field," Harsch said. "There are spots that some growers can't get to, so this is giving them the ability to see parts of the field they can't even physically get to."

Harsch explained that her company (Prairie Fire Ag Solutions) helps the growers understand the system's recommendations and helps them understand the technology. She does this next to her husband, Kevin Harsch.

“It’s important that every grower knows what soil moisture is in their particular fields," Harsch said.

“There’s a mix of technology in there that I think will give us some opportunities in the future," Hunnicutt. "I would recommend this to other farmers."