Jain Irrigation ‘s founder B.H. Jain’s underlying vision to promote sustainable water management in agriculture is based on his personal experience with the challenges facing farmers. Today his vision is expressed in Jain’s mission statement, “Leave this world better than you found it.” Jain Irrigation helps growers worldwide reduce their dependence on water to make a living. Jain AgTech products help growers increase annual yields and gross incomes. Quail H Farms is an excellent example of a grower using AgTech to save water and increase yields.
With summer right around the corner, mornings start early for California Sweet Potato farmer, Adam Shaner. Adam farms for Quail H Farms – a farming operation in the Atwater/Livingston area in Central Valley of California. The Central Valley is known as one of the most productive agriculture regions in the world. With its rich soil and Mediterranean climate that is suited for many crops, Adam stays busy farming a number of high-value crops which include; sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash and almonds.
Adam Shaner – Farm Manager
Quail H farms over 1,000 acres of annual and permanent crops and owns and operates a 900,000 square foot climate controlled sweet potato storage. They also have a 50,000 square foot packing facility. To guarantee the physical and aesthetic qualities of Quail H products, they hand sort and pack all of their produce. This process ensures the highest level of quality and consistency that their customers expect.
After farming for 8 years in the area, Quail H knows how important it is to manage their water supply. According to Adam, “Water quality and irrigation management are top of mind each day in raising a great crop”. Adam Shaner has implemented drip irrigation for most his crops to make sure he is able to deliver the exact amount of water and nutrients to each plant.
Over the past five years, Adam has worked with Jain Irrigation in Fresno, California to supply his farm with advanced irrigation products. In the early 90’s, Jain Irrigation introduced a drip tape called Chapin Deluxe that has been instrumental in helping farmer’s grow quality crops while saving water. Quail H has seen both water and labor savings with the use of Chapin Drip Tape.
Adam uses a single drip tape line for each bed of sweet potatoes. The drip tape is installed in each furrow just after planting. Adam praises the Chapin products because “We are able to cultivate our fields anytime throughout the day without breaking and stretching the product. I’m not worried about stretching the material as we move the drip tape both manually and mechanically [a difficult process] due to challenging field conditions” Adam is also not worried about over-pressurizing the system due to the quality, material, and engineering of the drip tape product.
Adam Shaner credits a lot of Quail H’s success in working close with manufactures such as Jain Irrigation to make sure they understand his farming needs. Adam notes, “With a factory based in the Central Valley of California, Jain Irrigation is able to consistently provide timely products to meet my needs”.
Jain Irrigation sees the benefit of inviting all irrigation dealers and their growers to visit the factory. “It is a great way to learn more about the irrigation customer’s needs and provides a great opportunity for irrigation dealers and their farmers to give constructive feedback and learn more about the Jain product offering”. It becomes a “win/win for everyone” notes Aric Olson – President of Jain Irrigation.
Synergy is the cooperation of two or more organizations to create a combined effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. Jain Irrigation Inc has been encouraging synergy with growers and independent dealers for years and the result is higher yields with less inputs resulting in higher profits for growers. The demand for food is increasing daily and Jain Irrigation appreciates growers like Quail H Farms and their commitment to water management. Now more than ever we look for opportunities to work with growers and dealers to solve the global food challenge.