Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/776679
WINERY & VINEYARD EQUIPMENT 64 WINES&VINES February 2017 Holler upgraded various agricultural sen- sors to work with eKo Pro nodes by tech sup- plier Crossbow. The company still maintains a few of these older systems, but now offers its CS3 system. Holler developed the CS3 system himself, and it is based on a new series of field stations that range from simple data acquisi- tion to more complex tasks such as valve control, remote video monitoring and weather monitoring. "To run an irrigation system, one typically needs at least three nodes plus an internet gateway; one node to sense soil mois- tures in the field far from the irrigation mani- fold, one to sense irrigation parameters like pressure and water flow, and one to open valves and control pumps," he said. The data can be accessed directly through the gateway, but most customers use a web interface that features a vineyard map or dash- board with all the relevant data. Camalie's system includes an upfront cost of around $2,500 for the equipment, plus a charge of $39 per month for the web service to store data and host a user interface. TULE TECHNOLOGIES tuletechnolgies.com Tom Shapland, founder and CEO of Tule Tech- nologies, said the company's primary goal is to help growers answer two questions every day: How stressed are my vines relative to where I want them to be? And, how much should I irrigate? To that end, Tule's system provides accurate evapotranspiration data, which can be used to create just the right amount of vineyard stress to reach quality or quantity goals. Shapland said growers can use the system to vary irriga- tion for certain vineyard blocks to reach goals based on yields or grape quality. "With our device, we measure the actual crop water use. We account for the weather, and we account for the canopy size. And now that we have three out of the four, we hone in on the stress," he said. The Tule Actual ET sensor communicates with the company's services via a cellular connection. Users then get their field data through a mobile app, web-based dashboard or email reports. Shapland said the company will work with growers to pinpoint exactly where to place the evapotranspiration sensors and how many they will need to meet their irrigation man- agement needs. Pricing starts at $1,500 per sensor per year. Tule can provide additional training and tutorials about the system, but Shapland said his main goal is to provide actionable informa- tion and leave the irrigation decisions to the clients. "Growers know their fields better than anyone else," he said. The sensors provide the data accurately and quickly so growers can make more informed decisions rather than waiting for the vines to become visibly stressed. Shapland said Tule has about 600 sen- sors in vineyards monitoring about 3,000 acres throughout California, with most of them in Napa, Sonoma, San Joaquin and Financing in the Craft Beer, Wine & Distilleries Industries March 3, 2017 ~ THE MARKER ~ San Francisco, CA $ 5 0 D I S CO U N T Use Code SPP50 800-574-4852 TSGregistration.net/5648W Join our Program Co-Chairs, Christopher R. Hermann of Stoel Rives LLP, and Mario Zepponi of Zepponi and Company, along with the outstanding faculty they have assembled. ese topics will be covered: Financing Early Stage Startups Feeding the Beast: Financing Growth At What Stage Does Debt Financing Play a Role? Best Practices to Successfully Attract Financing Key Considerations for Documenting Financing Arrangements Case Studies Tule Technologies