Misconceptions
The growing season doesn’t end with
harvest. Taking care of your irrigation equipment in the offseason will prevent costly
repairs and downtime next year.
One of the biggest misconceptions about irrigation system maintenance is that upkeep is an added expense. That’s not really true. Without proper maintenance, the additional cost comes later – when you can least afford it – and your machine breaks down in the summer heat.
Parts will fail … eventually. Just like your truck’s brakes, it will happen. For example, even the most durable sprinkler packages do wear out, giving you less-than-uniform water application, which results in your crop getting less water than you think.
Replace the parts nearing failure when you can – all at one time – as opposed to making multiple trips to the field and experiencing multiple periods of downtime. Doing so is actually less expensive in the long run.
We’ve talked about what to do and why it should be done; lastly is the “who.” Contact
your local pivot dealer to schedule an original equipment manufacturer-trained pivot service technician to perform a preventative maintenance checkup today.
The growing season doesn’t end with harvest. Taking care of your irrigation equipment in the offseason will prevent costly repairs and downtime next year. Take preventative steps now, and your irrigation equipment will run reliably through the next growing season. Contact your irrigation dealer for more detailed maintenance requirements.
Kenneth Bracht is the senior director of global aftermarket parts for Valmont Irrigation. He has an economics degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has been in the irrigation industry for more than 20 years.
16 Irrigation TODAY | October 2018
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