Mark Your Calendars

With the new year in full swing, I thought it necessary to share with you some time sensitive info, dates, news of what's happening, and news of what's to come from Compton Irrigation.

Each year we look for ways to serve you better. This year is no different. This past week Joe Allen, Compton's lead service technician traveled to Hastings, Nebraska for Isuzu service training. At the end of February, Compton Irrigation's entire sales and service staff will spend a week with Valley in Omaha, Nebraska, getting more familiar with Valley products and servicing them properly as we do annually. In addition to classroom training, each sales and service team member spends many hours completing online training courses that better equip us to serve you.

The end of this week will be your last opportunity take advantage of the some of the biggest savings you'll have access to before the growing season on a variety Valley parts and upgrades. Friday Feb 1st closes out Valley's off-season maintenance program. If you are interested in extra savings on re-piping, sprinkler package upgrades, panel upgrades and more; get with me quickly this week. We're also offering an extra discount on many service parts. My orders have to be submitted before the close of business Friday to qualify.

Next Tuesday February 5th, we will hold our annual customer appreciation luncheon. Make plans to join us at the Thiebaud Auditorium in Lamar from 10am - 2pm. There will be several knowledgeable representatives, direct from many of the manufactures of products that we offer you. Come armed with your questions, as this is the best time get all the best information, straight from the source. We enjoy the opportunity each year to talk with you on how your operation is doing, share some of our insights on how we might be able to help further your success, and thank you for your loyalty and support our operation. You are the most important part of our success.

February 22-24 is the Western Farm Show in Kansas City. We'd love to have you run by our booth and chat with us. Stop by the office ahead of time and ask for a discounted ticket that saves you $3 off admission. We are also scheduled for the Four State Farm Show in Pittsburg, Kansas May 3,4, & 5. As well as, the Ozark Farm Fest in Springfield, Missouri October 4,5, & 6. Last year we missed the introduction of the Farm & Ranch Xpo in Joplin, Missouri, and are looking into adding that to our farm show lineup.

We're looking forward to what 2019 has to offer. This year we have a couple of new product lines that we have added to better equip you for success. We added Patriot Equipment for their Pivot Track Closer and Pivot Bridges. The Patriot line of equipment has dozens of other products from implement accessories to cattle feeding equipment. We also recently added Superior Grain Equipment. With a Lifetime Bin Roof Warranty, the highest-quality materials and the latest innovations... There’s nothing standard about Superior! 

If you ever have questions that need answered, projects that need quoted, or if you just want to talk about your operation and the options available that may help increase your bottom line, give me a shout. I'll do my best to get you headed down a path to a more productive tomorrow.

Nick Coble

nick@comptonirrigation.com • www.comptonirrigation.com

Office: 417.682.2525 • Cell: 417.389.0578 • Fax: 417.682.2267

279 W US Hwy 160 • Lamar, Mo • 64759

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:7

AgSense Modem News

For anyone using any cellular based AgSense products, here's some important information:

As of November of this year, Agsense has started shipping out all new units with LTE modems installed. Prior units are equipped with 3G modem technology. For those of you that may not be cellular savvy, let me give you a rundown of what this means and how it might effect your operations.

Technology is always advancing. New technology is released at what seems daily intervals, and existing technology slowly becomes obsolete. How many of you have a pager strapped to your hip, or a blackberry in your pocket? How about an 8 track player in your car? Cool gadgets get replaced by cooler gadgets, and fast convenient tech gets superseded by faster and better performing products.

When we think in terms of cellular services, phones come to mind. 3G technology has slowly been replaced by phones on the 4G network. These changes have given us better coverage areas, faster services, more data capability, etc. There's been recent talk of an up coming 5G network. Both the 4G and 5G networks are rooted with LTE concepts in mind (Long Term Evolution). Which means the new LTE modems with have many years of functionality, and will not require another upgrade.

Luckily, AgSense looked into the future and designed their products to be modular. Meaning, you don't have throw away the units you have to keep up with the latest tech. If you're like me, our family has had what seems like dozens of new phones in recent years. Always changing them out every couple of years with new technology. Not so with AgSense. When one modem becomes obsolete, we can swap it out for an updated one. Simple as that. It will take longer to get to field than to actually fix the problem. So, you're probably asking yourself; "When will I have this problem, how do i fix it, and how much will this cost?

We had previously suspected 3G modems might go dark as early as late 2019. Recent communications between AgSense and the network providers indicate 3G could remain available through the 2021 growing season. So, no immediate action is absolutely necessary. There are some courses of action in place for you to be ahead of the game, if you choose.

• New Equipment - Like stated above, all new equipment is already being shipped with the LTE modems already installed, so no action is necessary. All new Valley pivots with an ICON panel will have an option at the time of order for an extended License rather than the standard yearly subscription. These extended licenses will also include a connectivity guarantee.

• Existing Equipment - The current 3G modem is now expected to be fully functional for anther 3 years, so no action is necessary. The modem has no impact on the current feature-sets of your unit. With the new modem, you might experience stronger signal strength, better coverage, and faster communication times with sending commands. For areas with lower signal strengths, the swap option listed below might be helpful upgrade.

• Modem Swap - When modem failure occurs, the normal modem replacement cost in 2018 has been $370 plus the cost of a service call when Compton Irrigation was the one to do the swap. AgSense is offering a modem upgrade special of $100 plus installation.

• Upgrade Unit - Like stated above there's no need to upgrade your unit. AgSense continues to offer a $500 dollar trade allowance for any telemetry device, working or not. Under a normal modem failure, it almost makes more sense to upgrade the entire unit for slightly more than just the modem cost. this gives a new warranty to the entire unit. Although there would be more of an investment spread between a modem upgrade cost and an entire unit upgrade, it is still a tempting option to get a full warranty on an entirely new unit.

• Competitive Equipment - Many competitive branded equipment, as well as the TrackerSP, don't offer a modular design. when those modems fail to operate, the entire unit will need to be replaced. these devices are include in the equipment upgrade option above. The TrackerSP can be traded for an AgSense Commander VP for a $1000 dollar trade allowance or a field commander for the standard trade allowance. This is a great way to get the newest tech with a full warranty at a drastically lower cost. Make sure your selection for a new device is a modular design, ready for future upgrades.

To recap, this is all actually great news. Our existing equipment will have full functionality longer than we first expected, and the equipment developers have made making future transitions easier and cheaper than their competitors.

Nick Coble

nick@comptonirrigation.com • www.comptonirrigation.com

Office: 417.682.2525 • Cell: 417.389.0578 • Fax: 417.682.2267

279 W US Hwy 160 • Lamar, Mo • 64759 

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:7

Today's Technology In Irrigation

Today's technology can be exciting and terrifying sometimes. Some tech is forced into our lives as products and processes evolve; while other tech is often available, but may remain overlooked or ignored. As 2018 closes out and we prepare to welcome 2019, I thought I'd share some tips and insights into today's technology in irrigation.

There are many remote monitoring and control platforms out there to keep up with your equipment and processes. Some are completely free, like the Valley Run Time app. This app allows you to manually input your pivot information, and confirm when you start your machine. It then keeps a calculated list of each machine and when it might reach it's full irrigation cycle. This eliminates the need for irritating math, random notes, and requesting your wife to remind you to shut off the pivot at a certain time. Although it doesn't eliminate any of the physical labor or trips to field, it does help organization and reduces the possibility of human error with calculations. Other platforms like the AgSense line of products trade a small yearly subscription for peace of mind that your equipment is working like it's suppose to be, where it needs be. With options to merely monitor the equipment's current state, to full control from practically anywhere. This remote access technology has the potential of saving the user countless hours of valuable time and eliminating frustrations of not knowing whats happening when your your not there to babysit things. Some services like Valley Scheduling give you complete access to real-time data on your own farm to tell you exactly when and how much to irrigate. This info sets you up to get the maximum value for all your hard work, irreplaceable time, and invested resources. Regardless of your chosen path to using technology on your farm, here are a few tips to help you make the most of it:

• Be Informed - Attend grower meetings, read blogs and news publication, talk to your neighbors, attend farm shows, and most importantly reach out your local irrigation and crop professionals. Knowing whats out there and how its being used will help you know what you might be able to improve within your operation.

• Update Apps - More and more tech services are app driven. Some applications update automatically, while other need to be manually updated. Using the most current version of the app eliminates user issues as well as ensures you're getting use the all the features available. Check your apps often to make sure you're always up to date.

• Upgrade - Technology is always changing. What was top of the line yesterday may be obsolete tomorrow. Periodically trading out existing equipment for the newer model ensures that you're always getting the biggest bang for your buck. Just because existing equipment is functioning fine, doesn't mean it couldn't be done better, faster, and with more efficiency.

• Try it - Take advantage of field trials/demos and money back guarantees. Most organizations that that introduce technology to their operations realize they would have benefited from it long ago.

Nick Coble

nick@comptonirrigation.com • www.comptonirrigation.com

Office: 417.682.2525 • Cell: 417.389.0578 • Fax: 417.682.2267

279 W US Hwy 160 • Lamar, Mo • 64759

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3:7