Tom Rogers and his brother Dan have farmed in San Joaquin Valley, California on land that has been in their family for three generations. Their father planted almonds in the 1980s, and inspired his sons to explore the adoption of cutting edge technology.
“Our father had an open mind, he would consider anything and try it. We were really fortunate,” explained Tom. “We had the desire to do better, I will confess, we love new stuff, and we get that from our father.”
OnTarget Almond Sprayers
When Tom learned about OnTarget Spray Systems’ water saving capabilities, he wanted to try it to apply pollen, fungicides, miticides, and insecticides.
“We have been using pollen applicators for 35 years, and found that adding pollen to the orchards encourages pollinators to visit,” noted Tom. “Previously, we would put a pound of material in 100 gallons of water, and it covers an acre. We found with OnTarget, you only use 30 gallons,” he remarked.
President of OnTarget, Willie Hartman, confirmed that almond and pistachio farmers are using OnTarget’s 600 gallon sprayers for their entire spray program of pests and diseases.
“It’s true, farmers use only 30-50 gallons of water per acre by switching to OnTarget,” explained Willie. “OnTarget also reduces their refills by up to 70 percent. That’s because OnTarget requires 80 percent less water compared to conventional air-blast sprayers.”
Using OnTarget for tree nuts can translate to yearly savings of almost $90,000 per 1,000 acres, when farmers consider water, labor and diesel savings.
OnTarget’s 600 gallon sprayer for tree nuts is referred to as the LPA, the Low-Profile Articulator. It boasts 24 manifolds, mounted into six unique spray zones that allows the operator to spray crops from the top-down and bottom-up.
“It offers complete coverage, with twice the deposition rates with every pass, even on the tallest, densest foliage,” explained Willie.
OnTarget Pistachios Sprayers
Ingleby Farms’ Steven Strong, an agronomist, farmer, and former agricultural inspector also found OnTarget Spray Systems to be a leading technology for spraying tree nuts. Founded in 1998, Ignesby Farms is now a global organization, and produces pistachios on 3,443 acres in California.
“We really want to balance conservation and production, and that leads us down the trail on how we got involved with OnTarget Spray Systems,” noted Steven.
“The difference is we’re able to spray with the OnTarget spray rigs, at a 30-40 gallon rate of water, per acre, compared to when we spray 100-200 gallons with the standard spray machine,” Steven explained. “It puts less weight, thus compaction on the soil. And the other thing that we believe we are seeing is the actual atomization of the OnTarget machine, we are observing a better, complete coverage,” he concluded.
Ingleby Farms has used OnTarget for three full seasons, and will begin their fourth this spring. Ingleby farmers use their OnTarget rigs to spray for Gill’s MealyBug, Navel Orange Worm, and for nutritional sprays.
“We’re innovative, and one of the things that proves this is our three OnTarget Spray rigs,” Steven remarked. “We aim to consistently be a step ahead, and work with leading advisors. We have that with OnTarget Spray Systems, and we like that they are on the forefront of agriculture technology and practices.”
Spraying almonds and pistachios
To learn more about spraying for almonds and pistachios, and to see OnTarget rigs in action, visit ontargetspray.com/tree-nuts