Voices from the industry
Developing irrigation technology stewardship for growers
Technology ... love it or hate it, we all know it’s here to stay, and what’s more, it’s constantly evolving. By Desi Ramirez
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Richard Arias is the current president of the California Agricultural Irrigation Association and the vice president of sales for RDO de Mexico/RDO Water.
ow can the irrigation industry support and improve the use of technology for agriculture? It’s one of the main
challenges our industry faces today and a challenge that RDO de Mexico/RDO Water Vice President of Sales Richard Arias wants to tackle.
“After-sales stewardship of technology is limited. Creating a stewardship and maintenance program with tech innovators and manufacturers is critical for our industry,” Arias says. He is faced with this issue daily as the vice president of sales for RDO de Mexico/RDO Water.
However, most growers are not looking to become tech equipment experts and don’t to integrate the technology data with their management decisions.
Industry professionals know irrigation tech offers opportunities to improve efficiency, management and production by maximizing control of inputs and outputs. But with all the choices on the market, selecting the right technology is a challenge for growers. Recently, there has been an explosion in the variety of advancements in technology that contribute to the modernization of agriculture. With the evolution of the “internet of things,” management recommendations and even decisions can come from machine learning. As the system operates and receives automatic feedback, it will learn and detect patterns and update future performance. However, most growers are not looking to become tech equipment experts and don’t have in-house staff to integrate the technology data with their management decisions. Additionally, there is the challenge that the constant evolution of technology means current technology becomes obsolete and unsupported. Because of those factors, growers rely on our knowledge to guide them in technology selection and operation.
Technology innovators and manufacturers are responsible for creating a product that will perform as specified. Manufacturer
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representatives provide tutorials on equipment use and offer data recording and analysis packages, but the growers need more. Stewardship of the technology should include service to ensure the grower can use the data recorded and analyzed to measure results of their management decisions.
As irrigation professionals — system designers and vendors, manufacturers, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service staff and conservation district staff — we can help bridge the gap between technology and the grower with the support of the innovators/manufacturers. Many of us have frequent involvement with our customers, so we understand what is needed to make the data relevant and practical for growers’ day-to- day operations. Plus, we have the education background to understand the science behind the technology and the exposure to see which manufacturers are in the market for the long term.
Our challenge is to stay engaged and current with advances in technology that support our clients’ farming operations. We do this by attending workshops, webinars and conferences. We also reach out to technology manufacturers to discuss applications and to develop a combined stewardship program for the client. The goal of a stewardship program is to follow up with clients at various times after installation to ensure the product is functional and optimized. Revisiting these sites and products after months or years of use will help inform future design.
Desi Ramirez is the government affairs program engineer for RDO Water.
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