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Run your irrigation system from anywhere

Soil moisture monitoring technology, automation, 3-D drainage modelling and farm-scale solar systems are some of the offerings at next month’s FREE Gippsland Irrigation Expo at Sale.

By Sue Webster - 23rd February 2017 - Back to News

The free event, at Sale Showgrounds on March 15, showcases some of the latest technologies from across the world. The chair of the expo organising committee, Iain Stewart, said it would be a fantastic chance for farmers to speak to irrigation experts and learn how to upgrade, or make their current systems more effective. "Irrigation systems are often one of the best areas on farm to invest in, not only in terms of productivity and profitability increases, but also in terms of time and labour saved," Mr Stewart said. "Farmers used to spend hours dragging around irrigation pipes and opening stops; technology has taken away that work burden. "And, of course, there is the full range of telemetry to guide all this technology from your mobile phone, you don’t even have to be in Australia to run your irrigation system. "We can use automated gates linked to soil moisture sensors to judge the optimum time to irrigate. The equipment not only does the hard work, it does the thinking for us too. "We have centre pivots that follow GPS tracking down to millimetre-accuracy when they deliver water, to ensure not a drop is wasted. "There are spigots that close off to avoid watering tracks, there are double-back irrigation arms that mean you can install a centre pivot and retain stands of trees and there are solar panels and submersible pumps." The event has been supported by Agriculture Victoria with sponsorship from Wellington Shire Council. The event has also had backing from Southern Rural Water, Dairy Australia, Southern Farming Systems, East Gippsland Food Cluster, Horticulture Innovation Australia, Murray Goulburn and the National Vegetable Extension Network. Visit www.facebook.com/gippyirrigationexpo/ for updates and more details.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: susan.webster@scu.edu.au