Thanks to several sources of funding, there are Mobile Irrigation Labs located in nearly all areas of the state, so for anyone interested in operating a precision irrigation system, it’s recommended growers contact their local RCD to find out more information. The Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) is a free service that provides on-site evaluations of agricultural irrigation systems. The primary function of the MIL is to provide comprehensive reports to producers that detail how their irrigation system is performing, including tips, suggestions, and recommendations based on data collected during the inspection.
The Mobile Irrigation Lab operating in Tehama, Butte, Glenn and Shasta counties will operate at full capacity in 2025. With grant funding, the lab will have a full two- to three-person crew with the ability to perform two irrigation system evaluations per day beginning in April and running through October.
Also new for 2025 is a CDFA grant that will pay for agricultural irrigation system pump tests. The only requirement to get a free pump test is an irrigation system that is connected to the pump must have an evaluation performed by the mobile lab crew, and there is a limit of 10 tests per year. The first to sign up will be able to have this free service performed in addition to a Mobile Irrigation Lab evaluation. The Resource Conservation District (RCD) in Tehama County is partnering with a local pump company to perform these evaluations. A limited number of spots are available in 2025.
Last year, the Mobile Irrigation Lab was able to hire two interns who were retained by Tehama County RCD and are well trained and ready for this year. Kevin Greer, lab manager, said having a full crew this year will allow the lab to get an early start on irrigation evaluations for 2025 and reports will be returned much quicker than in previous years.
Greer is reminding growers to pay close attention to their irrigation system components, starting at the pumping plant and running all the way to the last hose line in the system. Maintenance on system components like sprinkler heads, nozzles, inlet Ts, hose lines, valves and gauges all require constant attention, particularly those in microdrip or microsprinkler systems. Greer said these components can leak, plug and fail over time. This is critical to maintaining an irrigation system with a high distribution uniformity percentage.
Greer said it is also important to pay close attention to all system components no matter what age the system is. Over the years, Tehama County RCD’s lab has found new systems that had faulty components in need of replacement. Sometimes newer systems will have guarantees or warrantees that should be taken advantage of if they are not performing as designed. And for older systems, components will start to fail that require replacements. This can cause issues if manufacturers are no longer producing the same product, resulting in the need to mismatch components. If this type of practice occurs its extremely important to have a professional look at the system to determine if the mix of new and old components are compatible and if the system can still meet high distribution uniformity standards.
The Mobile Irrigation Lab always focuses on these important areas whenever performing an evaluation. Thanks to several sources of funding, there are Mobile Irrigation Labs located in nearly all areas of the state, so for anyone interested in operating a precision irrigation system, it’s recommended growers contact their local RCD to find out more information.
Greer said lab operators always work with growers to make the evaluation as convenient as possible. Often, growers are not present for the evaluation and only need to provide a design map prior to the evaluation (or a basic system layout sketch). Coordination often occurs through email or phone conversations, and once the system details are known, the grower only needs to turn on the pump in the morning prior to lab technicians arriving. Growers can also be present in the morning of the scheduled evaluation and pumps can be started at the time of arrival.
Once all questions are answered and the system is running, the lab crew can get started with the evaluation. Most evaluations take between two to three hours, and often, the lab crew can perform two evaluations in one day. If growers have multiple blocks or large numbers of acres, the lab can schedule multiple days or even weeks of evaluations to give growers information on all systems of interest.
Greer said once all field data has been collected and the evaluation is completed, lab crews return to the office to work on generating a comprehensive report that includes an overall summary of potential issues that may have been identified, followed up with tips and recommendations for repairs, fixes and improvements.
Also included in each report is a map that details all locations where pressure and flow test locations occurred in addition to tables and graphs of all collected data. Reports take anywhere between two to eight weeks to return depending on the time of year the evaluation is completed. Early season evaluations are returned fairly quickly while those later in the season take longer due to lab crews spending greater quantities of time in the field and less in the office.
