A new irrigation product available for center pivots can temporarily shed spans to navigate around field obstacles such as grain bins and wind breaks. Valley Irrigation announced its DropSpan technology, which brings water to underserved acreage previously unreachable.
“The Valley DropSpan allows growers to get the most out of the land they already have,” says equipment product manager John Kastl. “The spans can easily be dropped or re-attached by one person without the use of tools.”
Soybean grower Scott Ford of Bertrand, Neb., has a 14-span center pivot. He has used the technology to circumvent objects in one of his fields.
“The DropSpan allowed us to irrigate an additional 23 acres with a center pivot,” Ford says. “We like it because in a matter of 15 minutes, we are able to irrigate more efficiently with minimal labor requirements.”
When the pivots reach the obstructions, four spans disconnect and the machine continues irrigating.
The list price of a new DropSpan machine is $5,700.
More information is available by going to valleyirrigation.com.
