Every dollar counts in your business. But success isn’t measured by spending the least, it’s about getting the most from your investment. At Valley®, we work to continually provide you the best value.
The Valley X-Tec® center drive with FastPassTM technology provides several key benefits – increased speed, constant move and power at both ends of the speed range. The features come at an additional investment, but can provide an even greater value. By increasing your yield or reducing your costs, you can recognize greater value and see payback sooner than you might think.
Valley X-Tec can operate at twice the speed of standard motors, allowing you to do things with a pivot you didn't know were possible.
Let’s look at a couple ways that X-Tec can improve the bottom line for growers.
Increasing Yield
Take Oscar, for example. He grows onions in a 115-acre field and is already irrigating with a 7-span pivot.
Onion seeds are susceptible to being blown away by wind if they are not watered very quickly after being put down. Center pivots ordinarily take eight hours to make a full rotation. X-Tec can cut that time in half, minimizing the wind loss and enhancing overall germination after planting.
Oscar’s young onion plants were also easily damaged by wind-borne debris like sand. A fast, light application of water can hold down the sandy soil and reduce damage to the tender young plants.
Even with proper irrigation, late-day heat can cause crop stress, reducing yield. A fast, light application of water can cool the crop at critical times, and X-Tec is perfect for that yield-enhancing opportunity.
These three applications could provide Oscar with a 1% yield increase. That increase could result in a $6,000 increase in total revenue for the field, which means Oscar’s investment in X-Tec pays for itself in just 2-3 seasons.
X-Tec can increase yields by reducing wind loss and improving germination.
Reducing Costs
Switching gears, we’ll now consider Paul’s potato fields.
Paul also has a center pivot on a 115-acre field. His potatoes require up to eight applications of crop protection products like fungicides each season. Hiring a spray rig or an aerial applicator can really add up over the course of a season, maybe as much as $16,000.
Plus, relying on a contractor to apply those crop protection products might be suboptimal, and a spray rig can lead to crop damage as it travels in the field. Adding X-Tec and other equipment needed to apply crop protection products could pay for itself in about three seasons and then generate savings of more than $140 an acre year after year.
X-Tec can save you money when applying crop protection products. Those savings alone can pay for X-Tec in two seasons.
Maximize Value
Value gets measured at the bottom line. The multiple benefits of Valley X-Tec with FastPass can add to your bottom line in several ways. Contact your local Valley Dealer to discuss the possibilities.
Results are not guaranteed. Anticipated savings and payback periods calculated using the estimated pricing, yield and application numbers provided.