Justin Wootan is the owner/operator of Black Mesa Farms in King Hill, Idaho, growing Burbank potatoes on about 650 of their 4,000-plus acres. The Wootan’s also rotate alfalfa and dryland rye.

Wootan has irrigated with two center pivots for some time, but until recently, he used only solid-set irrigation over his potatoes. “It seemed like we were always over- or under-watering, and it was hard to get it right,” explained Wootan. “We’d sometimes fall behind in our moisture levels, and we’d have to play catch-up. Fortunately, we could catch up with solid set … but it was also very expensive and time consuming.”

Wootan said they would spend $50,000 to $60,000 each year moving all the pipes from one field to another as they rotated their potato crop with other crops. “Then, there was the maintenance cost, and the time it took to actually operate the system,” he added. “It wasn’t a great situation.”

Switching to Pivots Saves Time
Wootan decided to try pivots over his potatoes to save both time and money. He knew they would be much less labor intensive, but he had one concern: “I really wanted [a pivot] that could move fast enough to keep up with the kind of irrigation my potatoes require,” Wootan said.

His Valley dealer, Jim Schrader of JTS Farmstore, informed him of the Valley® X-Tec® advanced DC drive motor, which would move a pivot up to twice as fast as other motors.

“To get high-quality potatoes, we need lots of water, and Valley X-Tec helps us keep up with the crops’ high demands,” Wootan said. “We run our pivots all day during the hot season, and our pivot with Valley X-Tec technology lets our irrigation package match the water intake rates of the soil and evapotranspiration.”

The Valley X-Tec runs full torque at speeds ranging from 1 RPM to 136 RPM. Its patented alignment technology provides greater precision and consistent application while keeping correct alignment over varying terrain.

That particular field is flat, and the soil is uniformly clay. Wootan calculated that the crop in that field would require 3/4 inches of water over 35 hours. “That’s the sweet spot that provides the right moisture level for my potatoes,” he said, “and we don’t have runoff.”

Power and Flexibility
Potatoes are susceptible to the heat, so Wootan finds that doing a quick pass over the field in the afternoon provides a cooling spray that protects the plants and promotes their overall health.

The speed of the Valley X-Tec drive also aids in foliar application. Before, Wootan used aerial applicators to apply insecticide. “Airplanes take four hours to apply insecticide on this field,” he explained. “The Valley X-Tec makes it possible to run a foliar application over 130 acres in three hours, and I can do it when the time is exactly right.”

The benefits of his new pivot with the X-Tec were apparent, so Wootan quickly ordered another one. This one includes variable rate irrigation (VRI) and resides on a sloping field with crustier soil – a completely different situation.

Because of the labor and time savings, along with the improved health of the plants and the flexibility his pivots offer, Wootan continues to move away from solid-set irrigation and toward pivots.

“It’s the logical choice to include X-Tec on my pivots … it helps the health of my plants and the quality of my products, and it saves me time that I can spend with my family. That kind of investment makes a lot of sense to me.”