Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand

ZIMMY BRINGS A LITTLE CHRISTMAS CHEER

noreply@blogger.com (Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand) — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 21:21:00 +0000

Meet Zimmy! This helpful little Elf understands how busy farmers are during this time of year and is about to embark on a Christmas adventure down under to help out.

He's currently still planning his trip with Lindsay Corporation President and CEO Tim Hassinger – making his list, checking it twice and packing his tools, ready to help lend a hand wherever he is needed!

If you go to our Facebook page, @zimmaticanz, you will be able to follow his adventures as he makes his way across the globe to Australia and New Zealand.

In fact, it you follow his journey from 9 December and guess his location each day as he checks in on a few farmers, you could be in to win some great prizes in the days leading up to Christmas!

Zimmy making his list and planning his trip with Lindsay Corporation President and CEO Tim Hassinger.

Zimmy packing his tools and preparing to depart Lindsay headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska (US).

So, from Zimmy and the team at Zimmatic, we hope you have a great Christmas. Zimmy now needs to fly - literally!

A New Generation of Irrigation Control Panels to Meet Every Growers Needs

noreply@blogger.com (Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand) — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 22:09:00 +0000

Zimmatic ANZ are excited to share the news of the launch of the Next Gen Zimmatic® Controllers which will give growers greater control over their irrigation, to improve productivity and conserve resources.

“Our Next Gen control panels are industry leading, state-of-the-art, unparalleled. and much more,” said Reece Andrews, product manager at Lindsay Corporation. “With advanced technology and an intuitive interface, they’re powerful but very easy to use. All three of the new panels are also FieldNET® ready – making remote monitoring and control capabilities more accessible than ever before.”

Andrews said each of the new models also comes with smart barrier automation – providing a simple method for irrigating part circles.

“More growers are looking at part circle systems. So, in addition to simplifying the user experience, we wanted these new controllers to make it more effective to run part circles,” he said. “The smart barrier feature gives users the ability to start a part circle pivot and automatically reverse, return and stop at the original starting point.”

Launching here in New Zealand and Australia by the end of this year, here’s what you can expect from each option:

500C

While it’s a standard panel, the 500C is anything but standard. In addition to being FieldNET-ready, it has the capability to deliver low pressure shut down alerts and low pressure start-up countdowns.

700C

The 700C has the same ultra-simple, in-field user interface as the 500C and, with FieldNET and GPS positioning, growers can remotely automate stops, control end guns, create precision irrigation plans and more. It’s also compatible with FieldNET Advisor® - the industry’s first irrigation scheduling tool.

712C

The 712C has everything the 700C offers as well as the industry’s largest touchscreen. The 12-inch, interactive touchscreen is very easy to use and will be familiar to anyone who uses a smart phone.

“We know every grower’s situation is different. That’s why we offer a range of advanced Zimmatic controllers – all FieldNET-ready and prepared to go to work in your field,” he said. “And over-the-air serviceability makes software and firmware updates and the addition of future feature enhancements easier than ever.”

For more information about the Next Gen controllers contact your local Zimmatic dealer, to find a dealer near you visit zimmaticanz.com/where-to-buy.

Schedule your irrigator maintenance before winter is out

noreply@blogger.com (Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand) — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 02:23:00 +0000

With the cold winter weather you cannot be blamed for not having irrigation at the front of your mind, but spring has a way of sneaking up faster than expected, especially with busy times like calving and feeding winter stock. However finding (or scheduling) time for winter maintenance of your irrigator and variable rate irrigation (VRI) system will pay dividends when it comes time to fire the systems back up. So if you have not already done so you may want to consider a quick irrigator WOF check to make sure you get the best out of this critical piece of farm infrastructure. It may also be worthwhile evaluating if your irrigation system can be optimised or improved to save on costs such as water or energy.

Simple pre-season maintenance checks are able to be done by farm staff. A basic inspection while the irrigator is turned off can help assess if you will require service work to be carried out. It is recommended to park the pivot in an accessible position and ensure that the electrical isolator switch is tagged and locked to prevent accidental starting.

Gary Wilson, mixed arable farmer from Mid-Canterbury, making adjustments at his Zimmatic panel.
Find out more about how the Wilson's maximise production using Zimmatic irrigation technology here.

Every centre pivot should be supplied with an operation manual which can come in handy, for most you will find this in the inside door of the main panel. Some manuals actually include recommended maintenance checks with instructions to show you how to carry them out. Whoever is carrying out the checks needs to be aware that centre pivots are generally high voltage electrical systems, so leave all electrical checks to a qualified Service Technician. And if there is a need to work at heights make sure you have safe equipment to do so.

A walk up the length of the machine will allow you to assess any damage and parts requiring repair. Tighten, adjust or replace if possible, or note down so you can inform your Irrigation Dealer. Greasing of all the grease nipples as you go is highly recommended, important parts to maintain well-oiled are the pivot point, gear boxes and drive shafts. Checking that all moving parts around tower boxes are free and lubricated will help reduce problems for the upcoming season.

The uniformity of a centre pivot relies heavily on the correct sprinklers being fitted to each dropper, checking that the sprinklers installed match the sprinkler chart will allow your pivot to apply the specified application rates. Armed with a pole of some description you should be able to free any sprinklers that have become tangled over the truss rods.

It pays to check that the tyres are pumped up to their optimum pressure rating. As tyre pressure is critical not only for the life of the tyre, rim and gearboxes, but also the application rate of the sprinklers. Over or under-inflated tyres can apply higher or lower application depths than planned.

Once you have checked everything over with the pivot stationary, providing there are no required repairs, the next step is to run the pivot. This is ideally done when the soil is not too wet so that you don’t create big wheel ruts, or worsen those that need attention. Wheel ruts significantly increase the load and wear on the drive train so should be dealt with when possible. Zimmatic Precision VRI technology can be used to reduce the spray onto the wheel tracks to help minimise wheel rutting.

Obvious checks while running the pivot are leaks. Some of these can be fixed with simple repairs such as replacing droppers, but others may require a call to your Irrigation Dealer to sort out. While walking the length of the irrigator listen for excessive vibration or noise that may indicate issues on the towers motors, gear boxes and drive shafts.

Some component wear will depend on water quality as high concentrations of iron, suspended solids and effluent solids or grit can increase damage and degradation to parts. A general check is recommended every season to ensure that worn sprinklers and pressure regulators are replaced to maximise the efficiency of the pivot. Common causes to check for are blockages or damages from knocks during the previous season, missing sprinklers and spray plates.

At the end of the irrigator remove the sand trap cap (with the irrigator turned off) and flush the system to get rid of any sediment build up, this is very often common in the overhang. If your water supply has a high level of sediment than it is recommended that this is done regularly.

Reducing the risk of breakdowns during the irrigation season will help avoid production loses due to downtime for repairs. Long term water and energy cost savings are also possible through the installation of technology such as variable rate irrigation, which can reduce nutrient leaching as well. If you would like more information on recommended maintenance checks for your irrigator, system calibrations or technology to improve water use efficiency call your local Zimmatic Dealer.

Innovating for the future of farming

noreply@blogger.com (Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand) — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 01:50:00 +0000

For the last few months we’ve had a lot to celebrate including the 50th anniversary of the first Zimmatic center pivot, the 10th anniversary of the first Precision VRI system and some big improvements to our information channels for our Australian and New Zealand customers.

These celebrations have made us look back at the company's rich history of developing cutting edge innovations to help growers irrigate efficiently. But what does our future of innovation look like?

Lindsay’s President of Irrigation, Randy Wood, says the innovative spirit that drove company founder, Paul Zimmerer, still drives us today.

“We’re dedicated to innovating the tools and solutions needed to help feed the world and be good stewards of the environment,” he said. “At Lindsay, we are further accelerating our leadership in the area of precision irrigation management – providing growers with solutions that will help them produce more with less. Efficient irrigation is key to helping growers meet the challenges of a growing global population and helping to conserve resources while boosting farm output.”

We are continuously adding new features to further advance the value of our remote irrigation management solutions FieldNET® and FieldNET Advisor®. We’re also adding new crops and regions all the time – extending the technology’s capabilities to more growers around the world. Look for new crops coming to FieldNET Advisor coming this summer, including carrots, onions and even a pasture option.

Our vision for the future also includes collaborations with other best-in-class organisations – like Farmers Edge – to help growers consolidate the management of irrigation systems and other equipment, agronomic data and farm operations.

“We are fully aware of the power that comes with the ability to leverage big data – and the need to work with other organisations to help our growers better utilise that data to achieve greater operational efficiencies,” Wood said. “We also envision enlisting the support of retailers and food processors in the effort to make efficient irrigation a priority. For example, we see a time whey they prioritise suppliers according to how efficiently they apply water to their crop – something that can be tracked with FieldNET Advisor.”

Our commitment to future innovation prompted us to set an ambitious goal to help growers save more than 700 billion gallons of water and more than one billion kilowatt hours of energy by the year 2022.

“We’re confident that by aggressively enhancing our technologies and extending their capabilities to more growers, we can meet our goals,” Wood said. “Protecting and sustaining the world for future generations begins with effective water management – and we’ve made that a priority.”

One name for irrigation, one source of information

noreply@blogger.com (Zimmatic - Australia and New Zealand) — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 01:28:00 +0000

For more than a decade the Precision VRI system has been leading the way in efficient irrigation. Now, we want to build on this success by making things easier for you by providing better, more relevant information to our farmers in Australia and New Zealand.

First, you should know that we’re aligning Precision VRI with a name known the world over for having the strongest line of irrigation hardware solutions; a name that offers the best field-tested systems and industry-leading technology. And it’s a name you may already be familiar with through our extensive dealer network: Zimmatic.

Zimmatic Precision VRI is the same award-winning technology you’ve come to know and trust, designed right here in New Zealand with the same ability to allow customised irrigation to ensure you get the most out of your resources.

All we’re changing on that front is the name – from Growsmart to Zimmatic. Just to make things a little bit clearer and more streamlined for you. Put simply, it’s a new name, for the same product.

And as part of this new chapter we’ve now made it our mission to provide you with more useful information, resources and content to help you get the most out of your irrigation. To do this, we’ve expanded our website to include the full range of Zimmatic irrigation solutions available in Australia and New Zealand, and our social media channels will be updated regularly to deliver relevant, useful content to make your life on the farm a little bit easier.

You can find everything you need to know at zimmaticanz.com, including access to our resources, support and expertise, and you can find us on social media at facebook.com/ZimmaticANZ and twitter.com/ZimmaticANZ.

We’ll also be using our blog as a space to dive into more detailed content from all around the industry, including in-depth discussions on sustainable nutrient management, efficient irrigation practices, enabling technologies, and much more.

And we want to hear from you too. Drop us a line with any thoughts or feedback you might have – we’re all ears. After all, this is your space too.