Landscape and irrigation professionals learned how new technology is changing the way the industry does business at the 2021 virtual Landscape Technology Conference hosted by the Irrigation Association, Fairfax, Virginia. The event brought together business owners and industry professionals to share expert insights and the latest product trends.
The conference kicked off with a keynote discussing the development and history of technology in irrigation and how it could change the industry in the future, such as with pressure regulation for water efficiency, or controllers that are able to connect to internet.
“Pressure regulation at the head has saved millions of gallons of water where it’s used,” says Paul Lierheimer, director of landscape drip SBU for Rain Bird, Azusa, California. “It saves money for the owner of the system and it saves a precious resource — water — for the community. And it allows the contractor to sell their expertise and get paid more in the process.”
Jessica Case, senior product manager for commercial products, dug into the technical aspects of how pressure regulation technology can make a difference in water efficiency for contractors, increasing the amount of water that reaches the target areas without being carried off by wind.
There’s a growing trend to add flow management to irrigation control systems, which can unlock many new capabilities for contractors, such as automatic learning of flow management systems, says Sean Azad, marketing group manager for commercial products.
“Good technology is a combination of doing something new and useful while also simplifying the most common tasks,” says Sean Azad.
The event featured panels on choosing the correct customer management software for your business and driving measurable outcomes with central control and mobile technology. It finished with a presentation of some of the newest technology trends from industry experts.
The virtual conference’s premier sponsor was Rain Bird.
For more information on the Irrigation Association’s conferences, visit www.irrigation.org/virtiualconferences.
