THE INNOVATORS
Valley Irrigation: Leading Innovation in Irrigation Around the Globe
V
alley Irrigation is a global leader in mechanized irrigation equipment and the industry’s authority on advancing irrigation technologies. Worldwide, Valley irrigates approximately 25 million acres. In addition to conserving water, saving time, reducing input costs and increasing yields, Valley equipment can be remotely controlled from any location in the world. Innovation is a bedrock principle of the company. In this interview, Irrigation Leader Writer Parker Kenyon speaks with Ashley Anderson, Valley’s product manager for software products, Craig Bell, the company’s production manager for controls and variable rate irrigation, and Chris Righter, the production manager for structure and drive systems, about Valley’s innovative products.
Ashley Anderson: My professional background is primarily in product management pertaining to software products, both within the agriculture industry and outside the agriculture industry. I have been doing that for more than 5 years now.
16
Chris Righter: The majority of my background has been in manufacturing, about 25 years or so, both in engineering and in product development and support. Specifically, I have been in the ag industry for 21/2 years. Previous to that, I was in a variety of other manufacturing industries in engineering, projectmanagement, and business-management roles. Parker Kenyon: Would you please give a brief profile of Valley and some of the services that the company provides? Chris Righter: Valley is the global leader in center-pivot and linear irrigation equipment and in smart-irrigation technology. Worldwide, we irrigate about 25 million IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF VALLEY IRRIGATION.
Parker Kenyon: Would you each tell me about your professional background?
Craig Bell: My background is in website design, user experience design and IT. I was originally involved with the BaseStation product here at Valley on the software development side. Over the last few years, I have transitioned over to electronic controls and variable rate irrigation (VRI). I have been in technology for a little over 10 years.
