New Irrigation Introductions are Designed to Save Farmers Time and Water

“Farmers always know how much fuel is in the truck. But ask how much moisture is in the field, and many don’t know,” said Steve Risley, northeast region manager with Lindsay Corporation. Companies likeT-L Irrigation Company, Valley Irrigation, and Lindsay Corporation recently shared updates to their product lines at summer events — highlighting tools that aim to simplify irrigation, improve reliability, and reduce labor needs.

From real-time moisture tracking and hose-free reversals to remote controls that work across fleets, the latest innovations reflect a growing focus on helping farmers get more done with fewer trips to the field.

T-L Irrigation Company

T-L Irrigation emphasized its commitment to hydrostatic-driven, continuously moving pivot systems — a hallmark of the Nebraska-based company for more than 70 years.

Unlike electric pivots that start and stop causing excess wear, T-L pivots move steadily, promoting more uniform water application and fewer mechanical breakdowns. “With proper off-season maintenance, you can run the whole season without downtime,” said Chase Crawford, vice president at T-L Irrigation.

One of T-L’s biggest product debuts was the Auto-Reverse Hose Drag Linear System, designed for single-tractor, 4-wheel linear systems. The upgrade eliminates manual end-of-field hose repositioning — a historically labor-intensive task. When the system reaches the field edge, a rotating mechanism pushes the hose out of the way, allowing the linear to reverse without farmer intervention.

“This eliminates a trip to the field and downtime, allowing for more uninterrupted, hands-off irrigation,” said Phillip Tiemeyer, project engineer at T-L. Available as both a factory option and retrofit kit, it’s particularly useful on fields with a single riser location, enabling truly continuous irrigation.

T-L also highlighted its Edge Control system, a mobile-enabled solution that gives farmers fingertip access to pivot operations. “You can control your pivot from anywhere — home, field, or phone — and know you’re getting water where you want it, when you need it,” Crawford added.

Valley Irrigation

Valley Irrigation officially launched its Icon+ Smart Control Panel, a universally compatible  addition to the Icon family. Designed for farmers who want a cost-effective control solution with essential functionality, Icon+ allows remote control of any pivot — regardless of brand — through AgSense 365.

“This product closes the gap between our simpler and more advanced options at a price point farmers will appreciate,” said Luke Wickman, senior territory manager at Valley.

Combining touch-screen control at the pivot along with web or app-based fleet management, the system enables growers to group pivots by location or crop type and remotely shut them off during a localized rain event, helping save fuel, time, and unnecessary passes, Wickman explained.

Wickman estimated a return on investment in less than a year for farms adopting telemetry for the first time. “Compared to a 10-mile trip twice a day, that’s 40 miles a day in a diesel truck,” he said. “That adds up fast.”

While high-value specialty crop growers might still opt for advanced IconX features like variable rate tables, Icon+ covers the basic needs of about 98% of users, Wickman estimated.

Lindsay Corporation

Lindsay Corporation celebrated its 70th year by spotlighting the Zimmatic platform and FieldNet Advisor, the remote irrigation scheduling tool farmers can access on any device.

FieldNet’s redesigned app features faster performance, cross-platform consistency, and real-time moisture tracking displayed like a fuel gauge. Paired with FieldNet Advisor, the platform helps farmers fine-tune irrigation timing based on crop need and soil conditions. “Now we have a science-based model farmers can use as a reference to decide when and where to irrigate,” Risley said.

The platform also supports variable rate irrigation (VRI), offering precision water delivery based on soil type or topography — conserving water and reducing runoff.

Also on display was TowerWatch, a smart tower alignment sensor now compatible with pivots using FieldNet Premier. It detects which tower is faulting and sends instant alerts, saving operators from trekking through wet, muddy fields just to diagnose an issue.

“We want to pinpoint tower faults to make troubleshooting faster and protect the crop during critical irrigation windows,” explained Quinn Charling, ag tech sales rep.

Lindsay also unveiled non-directional radial tires, engineered to reduce rutting in wet conditions. “Flotation, not digging, is key,” said Risley. The tires are particularly suited for potato fields and other specialty crop operations requiring more gentle, even terrain pressure.