Smarter Irrigation 2: Beyond Water Smart - Advancing Dairy Irrigation System Performance

Currently key irrigation decisions such as start-up time, scheduling interval, irrigation depth and system performance (uniformity and energy efficiency) are often determined by simple rules-of thumb or estimations. This project will work with farmers and service providers to identify and demonstrate the farm scale costs/benefits incurred from using technology and good irrigation practice to address the yield gap resulting from poor irrigation system performance and irrigation scheduling practices. The project will also explore existing and new autonomous irrigation technologies that have potential to increase irrigation performance.