Tag: water efficiency

Staples Irrigation Efficiency Program Update

Posted on October 13, 2015October 12, 2015 by torodriptips

Get in touch with Staples Energy ASAP about any projects that save energy and use less water – projects must be approved by PG&E and installed by November 30th. There’s still time to get these incentives if you act fast.

The Irrigation Efficiency Program is offered by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in collaboration with Staples Energy to help growers achieve both energy and water savings through more efficient irrigation equipment.

Farmer uses Less Water with Drip Irrigation on Pumpkin Patch

Posted on October 7, 2015October 6, 2015 by torodriptips

As pumpkins in the field begin heading for front porches to become jack-o’-lanterns, a pumpkin farmer in Ogden is showing off his non-traditional way of watering his crop. His innovations have slashed his water use by two-thirds.

In this era of widespread drought and water shortages, some say the impressive water savings in Peterson’s Ogden pumpkin patch could be a model for other farmers.

Water Technology and the Calidfornia Drought Summit - Drip Irrigation

Water Technology and The California Drought Summit

Posted on September 17, 2015September 11, 2015 by torodriptips

On July 10, 2015, Toro Micro-Irrigation was invited by Governor Brown to attend the “Water Technology and The California Drought Summit” at CalEPA headquarters.

The 2015 Summit on Water Technology and the California Drought explored existing and upcoming technologies that can be more broadly deployed to strengthen California’s drought resiliency.

The Water Zone Radio Show to Focus on Water Issues in California Agriculture

The Water Zone Radio Show, Hosted by Toro Irrigation, to Focus on Water Issues in California Agriculture

Posted on September 9, 2015November 22, 2017 by torodriptips

This Thursday, September 10th, “The Water Zone” radio show, hosted by Toro, will focus on California’s agricultural industry and efforts to save water amid the historic drought. Guests include Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Senior Advisor to California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., and Manager of the San Luis Canal Company, among others.

New Bill would support California Emergency Drought Relief

Posted on August 28, 2015 by torodriptips

On July 30th, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer introduced the California Emergency Drought Relief Act, a bill with both short and long-term provisions designed to help communities cope with the ongoing drought and combat future droughts.

The bill is the product of months of meetings between Senator Feinstein and her staff, federal, state and local officials, environmental groups, water districts and other stakeholders.

Subsurface Drip Irrigation saves water, delivers inputs

Posted on August 10, 2015 by torodriptips

The practice of applying chemicals through buried drip irrigation lines has been used for decades in fruit and vegetable crops and orchards. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is pumping water into perforated poly pipes buried deep enough in the soil so that they’re not bothered by seeding and tillage equipment.

Inge Bisconer, a technical manager in Toro’s Micro-Irrigation division, said Toro has been an early developer of SDI.

However, drip irrigation is no longer exclusive to small-acreage, high-value horticulture crops.

VIDEO: Farming During Drought

Posted on July 17, 2015July 16, 2015 by torodriptips

In the following video, watch MSNBC’s Chris Hayes as he talks to Joe Del Bosque, a grower in California’s Central Valley, about farming during a drought.

Agriculture Irrigation Technology Transforming Farming

Posted on June 30, 2015June 30, 2015 by torodriptips

Madera County farmer Tom Rogers thought he knew a lot about how to irrigate his family’s 175-acre almond ranch. But several droughts, including the current four-year dry spell, made him reconsider his approach on how to get the most out of his ever-shrinking water supply.

For the last two years, Rogers has received no surface water, relying purely on groundwater wells to keep the ranch’s trees alive and producing.

Nothing is taken for granted on the Rogers’ farm, and nothing is wasted, especially water.

Water Stressed Farmer turns to Subsurface Drip Irrigation

Farmer Solves Water Woes with Subsurface Drip Irrigation

Posted on June 10, 2015 by torodriptips

When Jim Bahrenburg looks across the land he’s worked in the Monument and Kimberly areas, he sees buried treasure.

That treasure isn’t gold, but water.

Drawn from the North Fork John Day River, this water flows through small underground tubes to gradually irrigate blocks of land for crops. Starting on the North Fork Ranch in the Kimberly area, Bahrenburg said he first planted rye to choke out the thistles on what was just a neglected pasture, and then continued the transformation by planting row crops.

Today the land produces corn, onions, beets, peppers, squash and dill.

Staples 2015 Irrigation Efficiency Program

Posted on May 19, 2015 by torodriptips

The Staples Irrigation Efficiency program will provide incentives to any irrigation design which can demonstrate energy/water savings. The program will offer almost unlimited possibilities for submitting savings for rebates instead of only two “deemed” projects with set values for incentives.

WATER EFFICIENCY EQUATION: Reducing Use Per Unit Gaining Traction

Posted on May 15, 2015April 13, 2017 by torodriptips

With California now firmly entrenched in its fourth drought year in a row, the irrigation industry is rightly focused on water efficiency.

Paul McFadden, who is senior sales manager for Toro Micro-Irrigation, El Cajon, CA, said while the focus is clear, that doesn’t always mean using less water. “It’s an equation: units of input vs. units of output.”

The Toro Company’s Commitment to Water Use Efficiency in Agriculture

Posted on May 12, 2015November 22, 2017 by torodriptips

While the drought in the Western U.S. has made water and resource use efficiency top-of-mind, Toro is proud of the various ways we practice and advocate for responsible crop irrigation. Here are some of the ways we’ve worked to improve water and resource-use efficiency in agriculture.