Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/918682
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 71 GENTLE: Separates without damaging peaches, apples, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. ACCURATE: Precisely grades grape tomatoes, cherries, nuts, and small berries, maintaining that accuracy for larger products including cantaloupes and pineapple. FAST: Thirteen standard models custom-designed to meet your needs sort from 1000 lb/hr to 100,000 lb/hr. SIMPLE: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low cost, low maintenance machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be used in the field! VERSATILE: Specialized rollers allow for the accurate sizing of round products (potatoes, onions and citrus), long products (carrots, russets, and cucumbers), and irregular products (bell peppers, jalapenos, and garlic). Proven in use for: Round Potatoes, Russets, Goldrush, Reds, Sweet Potatoes, Fingerlings, and more. KERIAN MACHINES INC. 1709 Hwy 81 S PO Box 311 Grafton, ND 58237 Phone 701-352-0480 Fax 701-352-3776 Website: www.kerian.com Email: sales@kerian.com 158542KerMac13.indd 1 1/7/16 1:27 PM Schrader informed him of the new Valley X-Tec advanced DC drive motor that was in field test with Valley. It would move a pivot up to twice as fast as other motors. Justin became one of the first in line to put it to the test. The Valley X-Tec is a new DC drive motor that runs full torque at speeds ranging from 1 to 136 RPM. Its patented alignment technology provides greater precision and consistent application while keeping correct alignment over varying terrain. That was appealing to Wootan, but what he really values is the speed the X-Tec provides. "To get high-quality potatoes, we need lots of water, and Valley X-Tec helps us keep up with the crops' high demands," he says. "We run our pivots all day during the hot season, and our pivot with Valley X-Tec technology lets our irrigation package match the water intake rates of the soil and evapotranspiration." REMOTE TELEMETRY Wootan began using AgSense remote telemetry three years ago, so it was an easy decision to use it on his newest pivot as well. "I like it because I can use it to start and stop multiple pivots at multiple locations at the same time," Wootan says. "When I'm harvesting, I don't have to stop to move pivots. I can just do it on my phone. It lets me squeeze all the time out of the day that I can." His newest pivot is equipped with a Valley ICON10. Wootan can control it at the pivot point on a 10-inch, full-color touchscreen display or through AgSense ICON Link. He also uses the Valley ICON app with Edge-of- Field wi-fi to control his pivot. "It's easy to put the panel in service mode for troubleshooting," he says. "I've been doing so much experimenting on this field that it's been very beneficial." MOVING FORWARD The benefits of his new pivot with the Valley X-Tec drive were so apparent that Wootan quickly ordered another one. This one includes variable rate irrigation and resides on a sloping field with crustier soil—a completely different situation. It's not just the terrain and soil that are different, though. The addition of the pivot this last summer has already changed the way he farms. Because of the labor and time savings, along with the improved health of the plants and the flexibility his pivots offer, Wootan continues to move away from solid- set irrigation and toward pivots. "I started with two pivots, and I'll have nine by the time I have everything in next year," he says. "I'll probably put in a couple more in a few years."