Two Valley Irrigation Products Receive Award

Tracker Mobile and the AutoPilot Linear Control Panel with GPS Ready positioning from Valley Irrigation were recognized with AE50 awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).

To be recognized by the ASABE with an AE50 award, a product must have been introduced to the marketplace during the previous calendar year. Entries are judged by a panel of experts representing all facets of the agricultural, food, biological and related systems engineering professions. Judges expect the recognized products to save producers time, costs and labor, while improving user safety.

The Valley Tracker Mobile allows producers to remotely check the status of center pivot and linear irrigation equipment and control their operations with a Web-enabled Smartphone that has a Windows mobile browser and access to the Internet. A demonstration of the product is available at http://m.valleytracker.com.

The Valley AutoPilot Linear Control Panel with GPS Ready positioning is unique because it is a control panel specifically for linears, allowing irrigators to automate the linear to take into account production techniques and land variability, ultimately minimizing costs and maximizing yields, said Jake LaRue, manager of international projects and products, Valmont Irrigation.

With GPS technology, a producer can set more automated functions to water application amounts, speed, control, primary and secondary end guns, change direction, stop the linear, and start and stop chemigation,” LaRue said. “All of these operations can be programmed to occur automatically based on the GPS positioning in the field, which gives the producer more time to perform other tasks.”

Tracker Mobile also was recognized earlier this year as a World Ag Expo Top 10 new product. In 2008, the AutoPilot GPS Ready control panel was named Product of the Year by the Irrigation Association.”