Expo offers a wide variety of irrigation seminars

With California's continuing drought, attendance at the Feb. 13 seminars on irrigation may be of greater interest to attendees at this year's World Ag Expo.

The seminars, which go all day beginning at 10 a.m., will be held at the Expo Seminar Center.

Here is the seminar schedule:

• 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m.—Agricultural activities of the Irrigation Association; speaker: John Farner, Irrigation Association.
• 10:30 a.m.-11 a.m.—Good irrigation efficiency by increasing distribution uniformity; speaker: Bill Green, Center for Irrigation Technology.
• 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m.—Irrigation automation with wireless telemetry; speaker: Jacob Christfort, Ranch Systems. As water becomes more scarce and costly, irrigation monitoring and control becomes an imperative. Partial or full automation saves on labor costs and provides more precise control and data. This session will focus on wireless telemetry technology; software overview and demonstration; case study results from a pistachio and winegrape grower in Lemoore.
• 12 p.m.-12:30 p.m.—Polyethylene tape and tubing for micro-irrigation: technical attributes that contribute to high performance; speaker: Mark Jablonka, Dow Chemical Co. Micro-irrigation drip tape and tubing helps growers optimize water and fertilizer usage to maximize quality and crop yields. Micro-irrigation tape and tubing seems simple, but is highly engineered and complex. This seminar will provide an overview of the materials used in micro-irrigation tape and tubing, with a focus on polyethylene.
• 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m.—Volumetric flow meters selection, operation and maintenance for water and irrigation operators and maintenance personnel; speaker: Craig Pfaff, Seametrics Flow Meters and Controls. Flow meters offering volumetric measurement have been used for many years by both water and irrigation personnel for custody transfer, system flow analysis, throughput monitoring, control system pacing and other applications. This seminar will explore application-specific selection criteria of volumetric flow meters from the viewpoint of water and irrigation operations and maintenance personnel.
• 1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.—Pivot applications in California.
• 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m.—Filters and savings for both sides of your pump; speaker: Randy Delenikos, LAKOS Filtration Systems. It is no longer good enough that a filter can protect a pump or irrigation system from clogging or abrasive wear. The benefits of such protection maximize savings possible for an irrigation system. Learn about products, savings, applications and a checklist of criteria that can help select the right product while saving money.
• 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m.—The value of educating your field workers about drip micro; speaker: Jim Anshutz, AG H20. Today's agricultural operations rely on more sophistication and technology. Irrigation is a prime example of the need to educate field workers in the operation and maintenance of irrigation components like filters, valves and other components of a system. Not maintaining a drip system can cost a grower in water, power and fertilizer.
• 2:30 p.m.-3 p.m.—Drip irrigation; speaker: Paul McFadden, Toro Micro-Irrigation. Learn how to manage drip irrigation for efficiency.