A smarter irrigation system - Viglunda farm

Skara 2017

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At Viglunda farm outside Skara, Pär Jacobson runs his farm together with three employees. They grow potatoes, cereals and raise pigs. Potatoes are the backbone of agriculture, an expensive crop compared to many others, and the seed is already very costly. Ensuring that nothing is lost requires great care during the cultivation process. There must be an even level of moisture in the soil from the time the potatoes are planted until they are harvested. The farm has an extensive irrigation system to water the 30 hectares of ware potatoes.

Mission

They want to simplify and control the irrigation of potatoes to ensure the highest possible yield. Save energy, time and money. Better reliability and easier maintenance of the irrigation system.

Solution

Provektor together with ABB, has programmed and installed a frequency converter that automatically adjusts the water pressure when watering the potatoes. Previously, the pump maintained a constant speed that risked being unnecessarily high. Now it is adjusted up and down according to real needs. The solution is simple and is controlled directly from the frequency converter, which is controlled via a phone call. The cost is one tenth of what it costs to install a traditional control system.

Photo: Jesper Anhede