David Fowler ’ s valve controller system and automated actuator .
“ I like the fact it is super easy to install . If you find it ’ s in the wrong spot you can move it . It takes two minutes .
He said he was reaping the benefits after only a few months , with a 36 per cent reduction in time taken to water the whole farm .
“ I used to run 10 – 12-hour sets because I was never home to change them , so they would run from around 5am to 5pm ” he said .
“ It used to take 76-78 hours to water the whole farm , and lately we have been doing it in 48 hours .
“ I definitely plan to automate our other farm .”
MORE TIME WITH THE FAMILY
David said the ability to irrigate remotely from his mobile phone had enabled him to focus more on his family .
“ I CAN SPEND MORE TIME WITH MY LITTLE BOYS ,” HE SAID .
“ I LIKE TO GET AWAY ON A WEEKEND AND GO ON HOLIDAYS WITH THE FAMILY , BUT DURING THE SEASON YOU ’ RE PRETTY MUCH TIED HERE IF YOU CAN ’ T IRRIGATE REMOTELY .
“ But with automation I just need to go for a drive around the farm once a week just to check everything and that ’ s about it .
RECORD KEEPING A BREEZE
David said the system reduced watering time and took the pain out of data collection and record keeping .
He said it kept a digital record of every irrigation event , with the information sent to the irrigation scheduling tool IrrigWeb .
“ The system records everything for me ,” he said .
“ We can tell how much power was consumed and we know the price , so we can calculate the cost to irrigate that set ... all stored in the cloud and backed up .
“ At the end of the year I can look at running irrigation costs and water usage per block .”
IMPORTANCE OF STEWARDSHIP
It is clear to see the pride David takes in the knowledge that he is doing the right thing both for his business and for the Great Barrier Reef .
“ I ’ M A FIFTH-GENERATION SUGAR CANE FARMER , AND I ’ D LIKE MY BOYS TO BE THE SIXTH , SO WE NEED TO MAKE THE FUTURE A GOOD PLACE FOR THEM ,” HE SAID .
“ SO , BY DOING THE AUTOMATION , I THINK WE ’ VE NOT ONLY SAVED MONEY BUT WE ’ RE SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL .”
“ We are also running four cameras you can log into remotely , it ’ s another safeguard , I can be on holiday , log into the camera and see things are going ok .