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New way to irrigate crops

New way to irrigate crops

Photo Credit: 360 Yield

This cool tool delivers bands of water directly to the base of the plant

By Braxten Breen
Farms.com Intern

It has been a year of drought for many producers across the US and Canada. What would happen if a bunch of farmers took a self-propelled sprayer, attached a hose reel to it, and started to feed it on the move.

This crazy idea led to a completely new way to nurture farm crops, delivering water, nutrients, fungicides and more. Delivering bands of water directly to the base of the plant is the 360 Rain, providing advantages to traditional irrigation methods.

The 360 Rain is a 3-wheeled electric machine made up of a galvanized metal frame and tires with RTK and communication that provides control, coverage, and rate instructions through a cellular network connection.

With a 60-foot boom (24 rows), at 0.45 mph, the 360 Rain applies over 2,000,000 gallons of water per week through Y-DROP style hoses. Providing crops with 3 or 4 inches of moisture, and potentially nutrients and / or manure as well.

After two years of testing, the 360 Rain started to replicate trials with test strips. The trials show that 4.5-inches of water from 360 Rain generated an additional 65 bushels per acre for yield, or a 32% increase compared to non-irrigated strips.

With 360 Rain featuring the use of lower water demands, efficient delivery of nutrients, ability to adapt to irregular shaped fields, with a 7-foot clearance under frame, this maybe more of a machine than a tool, but after the recent drought, we thought it would be a great “tool” to help alleviate drought next growing season.


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The 12-day war between Iran-Israel came to an end sending crude oil futures plunging as the big fund speculators removed the war risk premium.

The weather risk premium in the Ag complex is sending corn, wheat and soybean futures lower on month-end selling ahead of the market moving USDA quarterly grain stocks and acreage reports on June 30th.

Instead, funds were chasing and sending tech stocks higher with the S&P 500/NASDAQ indexes setting new all-time record highs!

June 1 USDA Hogs and pigs report was slightly bearish while the U.S. $ Index traded to new contract lows as the de-dollarization that began in 2014 continues.

Feed in the form of soybean meal futures for livestock producers got cheaper, trading to new contract lows.

The Stats Canada seeded acreage update was bullish canola and wheat.