As with most growers, there’s a constant drive to find new ways to improve yields and reduce costs. In this case, we’ll feature a recent project with Robert Jones, owner/manager of Jones Farms. Robert grows almonds on his MC Ranch (150.1 acres) and was looking at ways to reduce PG&E bills without adding labor costs in the form of overtime pay.
Robert partnered with Cal-West Rain to help design, install, and automate a solution using WiseConn’s DropControl monitoring and control technology. With the system in place and running trouble-free, Robert estimates a potential payback of 12 months or less.
Case Study Details:
- Date: April 2019
- Company: Jones Farms
- Contact: Robert Jones, Owner/Manager
- Name of Project: MC Ranch
- Size of Project: 150.9 acres
- Type of Crop(s): Almonds
- Challenge/Problem: Reduce PG&E peak load usage without increasing labor costs
- Solution: Cal-West Rain designed, installed and configured a WiseConn DropControl monitoring and control system
- Results: The DropControl system provides the flexibility to schedule irrigations during non-peak load times. His irrigators can arrive at the beginning of an irrigation event and check the field for leaks without having to return later to start the system during a non-peak time. The grower’s savings on power is approximately $8.00 an acre per irrigation. He also realizes lower labor costs by not having to pay overtime for an irrigator to go onsite to start the system after 6 pm (during non-peak rates).
- Uniqueness: Designing a solution for the grower in a way he felt comfortable starting the system remotely and not having irrigators physically on site. Immediately seeing the savings and the potential for a 12-month ROI.
For more information on irrigation automation, including monitoring and control with Wiseconn’s DropControl system, please contact Cal-West Rain.
