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Water Scarcity Problems Solved with Advanced Agricultural Irrigation
Over the last decade, agricultural irrigation controls have become increasingly sophisticated. Now, many growers have replaced traditional irrigation timers and hydraulic regulators with advanced control and connectivity components adapted from those for industrial applications — including systems employing programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial PCs, and increasingly economical automation components with the ability to connect with and leverage common industrial communication protocols. These controllers and components can accept inputs from sources including soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and freeze sensors to prompt adaptive digital-farming responses in real time.
Sophisticated irrigation solutions abound for today’s large industrial farmers. In fact, automation technologies have also rendered advanced irrigation methods affordable enough for smaller farmers as well as food producers that specialize in vegetables and delicate crops with tighter profit margins.