Center-pivot diagnostics: What Valley’s tower-by-tower alerts monitor and what to know before you buy

A center pivot that stops in the middle of a hot week can cost more than a service call, since it can stress the crop it was supposed to water. Valley Irrigation is betting that tower-by-tower sensors and one app can shorten the time between a breakdown and a fix. Farm Progress profiled the company’s diagnostics push on Oct. 31. Below is a sourced rundown of what the system monitors, what it requires and what to ask before you spend money. This is not a hands-on review: US Farm News has not tested the equipment.

What the system watches

A conventional pivot fault usually trips the safety circuit and nothing more. Troy Long, Valley’s vice president of product hardware and warranty, told Farm Progress that the old setup leaves an operator driving out to the field to hunt for the problem: “You are blind as to where to go to look for a problem.”

Valley’s approach puts hardware in each tower box and uses power line communications to tie it back to the ICON control panel, Farm Progress reported. Valley’s product pages say the alerts cover four areas:

• Alignment: the alert names the tower that is out of line.
• Tire pressure: you get a warning when a tire runs low. Valley says the machine can be set to shut down automatically on a flat to protect the drive train.
• Motor and gearbox: runtime is logged for each drive unit, so service can follow actual hours instead of the calendar.
• Water application: pressure is read at each tower. That matters on rolling ground or when a pump problem keeps the end of the machine from getting enough water.

Long described the company’s aim as “improving machine uptime by reducing unplanned machine downtime.” Down the road, he said, Valley wants the system to schedule service and flag likely failures before they happen.

One app instead of several

Last year Valley combined several older platforms, including AgSense, PivoTrac and Valley 365, into one app called AgSense 365. Ashley Anderson, assistant general manager of the AgSense business, said the change grew out of grower feedback. In her account, farmers kept asking for “one app, one place, one-stop shop” to handle their pivots.

She said Valley has also worked over the past couple of years to make variable-rate irrigation (VRI) software easier to use, since defining zones and sprinkler-level prescriptions can get complicated. Valley expects AI-based tools to help growers use their in-field data for irrigation decisions, but those features are still coming and have not been released.

What you need before it works

According to Valley’s own materials:

• An ICON smart panel is required. Every ICON panel ships with AgSense 365 built in.
• Separate Machine Diagnostics hardware is needed at the towers.
• Pivots from other manufacturers can use the system if they have an ICON panel.
• You choose which of the four areas to monitor, based on your machines.

Questions to ask the dealer

Neither Valley’s pages nor the Farm Progress report gives prices. Before buying, get answers in writing:

• Total cost per pivot: panel, tower hardware, installation, and any connectivity or app subscription.
• Retrofit fit: whether your pivot’s age, brand and tower count suit the hardware, and what the install takes.
• Coverage: whether your fields have reliable cellular service for remote alerts.
• Payback math: compare the cost with what one missed watering at a critical growth stage, plus the hours spent driving out to check towers, costs your operation.
• Data: who can see your irrigation data, and whether you can export it to your agronomy software.

Pumping costs are already squeezing irrigators. See our look at propane irrigation engines and fuel savings, and find more equipment coverage in Machinery & Tech.

Frequently asked questions

Does Valley Machine Diagnostics work on other pivot brands?

Valley says any pivot brand can use AgSense 365 and Machine Diagnostics if it has a Valley ICON smart panel, along with the diagnostics hardware.

What faults does it report?

Alignment, tire pressure, drive-unit (motor and gearbox) runtime and water pressure. Each alert gives the location on the machine.

Is there an AI feature today?

Not yet. Valley’s AgSense team told Farm Progress that AI-based tools for irrigation decisions are planned.