Farming has come a long way, with technology transforming how things are done in the field. It’s no surprise that Agrico, a leader in irrigation innovation since 1988, is pioneering solutions like Web Control and Advanced Rain that save farmers time, money, and hassle.

“Thirty years ago, when you wanted to start your centre pivot you needed a bakkie, you had to drive to your centre pivot and start it, then drive to your pump, and start it and then hope everything works. You can now do all of this at home, in your combine or in your bakkie,” Johan Myburgh, Product Manager at Agrico, says.

Agrico Web Control: An in-house locally-designed solution

Agrico Web Control puts complete control over your entire irrigation system in the palm of your hand. Using an app on any internet-enabled device, you can manage, schedule and troubleshoot all your centre pivots, dam levels, valves, irrigation blocks and pumps from a central platform. Whether you’re on the farm or on the go, you can adjust settings with the swipe of a finger, ensuring your irrigation system is running smoothly at all times.

Justin Schietekat, the Lead Engineer for the Agrico Control system is part of the in-house team of experts who designed and developed the Web Control system.

“While developing the app we focused on the needs of customers. We realised that typically the customer needed to see the status of his device at a glance. Producers do not have time to waste, so we have made the app as user friendly as possible,” explains Justin.

A variety of connectivity options for remote areas

Internet connectivity can be a challenge for farmers in remote or rural areas. To address this, they built the Web Control system to be cloud-based, minimising reliance on local infrastructure. “We recognize the challenges of remote locations, which is why our system supports a variety of connectivity options,” says Justin.

An in-house support team regularly pushes over-the-air updates, ensuring that your system stays up to date with the latest improvements. This means even if you’ve had your system for years, you’ll always have the newest features at your fingertips.

And if you ever need help, Agrico’s support team is available 24/7. With their expertise, they can troubleshoot and even log into your system remotely to assist in real time.

Justin Schietekat

More than just irrigation: A complete control system

The Web Control system includes several powerful tools to help you manage every aspect of your irrigation setup. This includes the Agrico Advanced Rain center pivot controller, Pump Controller, and GPS. Together, they provide seamless control and real-time monitoring.

“Our system provides a comprehensive overview that logs all the user changes and events that the system might generate. This helps for reporting and future planning,” explains Justin.

You’ll also get automated notifications to alert you of any issues that could affect your irrigation schedule. If something’s out of place, you’ll know right away and can take quick action to avoid wasting time, energy, or resources.

Web Control provides customers with:

● Real-time monitoring and control: You can just open your app to see the status of your centre pivot, dam levels, pump pressure and more. This also allows you to make changes to the system from the app.
Programming and scheduling: You can set up a schedule for your centre pivots and irrigation blocks.
Data collection: The system keeps track of all inputs, state and sensor changes, and stores them for you to make informed decisions.
Notifications: An automated SMS warning or missed call alerts you to any irregularity, allowing you to take quick action and help you save energy and prevent damage.
Dynamic control: The inter-device communication allows the customer to use his centre pivot and pumps at an optimal energy level, saving on energy and costs.
Restart: You can restart your pump from the app and do not have to drive out every time you need to restart the system.

Web Control’s GPS helps you save time and money

One of the standout features of Agrico Web Control is the integrated GPS technology. The combination of GPS with the centre panel control and Variable Speed Drives allows you to optimise your energy usage.

How? The Web Control system measures the pressure at the start and end of each pivot point. This information is then used to adjust your pump speed and pressure accordingly, and supply the minimum pressure required for your irrigation system. With this feature no energy is wasted, saving you money.

This feature is especially handy when the system is used on farms with different elevations.

Agrico Control panel

Optimising resources

“At the end of the day it is all about resource optimisation, and we can help with water and energy usage and management,” says Justin.

Johan Myburgh adds: “We help customers to work as efficiently as possible with their electricity by measuring the pressure and ensuring every pivot and every irrigation block gets only the electricity needed.”

It’s all about getting the most out of every drop of water and every kilowatt of energy. The team at Agrico can even help you calculate how much you could save by switching to Web Control, offering detailed ROI reports that show just how effective the system is in reducing operational costs.

Go to https://agrico.co.za/agrico-web-control/ for more information.