Every grower knows water timing, energy costs, fertilizer efficiency and labor all carry weight when making irrigation decisions. For almond grower Nathan Heeringa, those challenges became impossible to ignore when the utility bill showed up.

Heeringa grows Monterey and Nonpareil almonds on a double-line drip irrigation system. Like many Central Valley operations, his orchard depends heavily on groundwater pumping and booster pumps to move water efficiently. The problem wasn’t just water use, it was the cost of powering the system during peak utility hours.

After running the numbers, Heeringa estimated it cost around $100 per acre-foot to pump water during off-peak hours and close to $300 per acre-foot during peak hours. With costs adding up quickly and to avoid the higher rates, he had to drive out to wells and booster stations to manually shut systems off and turn them back on later in the evening. It worked, but it became a frustrating and time-consuming routine.

That challenge pushed Heeringa to start working with HotSpot AG.

Eliminating the Guesswork and Extra Trips

Instead of planning his day around utility schedules and trips to the field, Heeringa now has the ability to remotely manage irrigation timing through HotSpot AG’s platform. He could make adjustments in real time and automate schedules hours, days, or weeks in advance all without stepping away from his current task. Once Heeringa saw the system in action, the return on investment became pretty clear.

When Heeringa started using automation alongside CIMIS-based water use reports, he noticed the difference quickly. What surprised him most was not just the convenience, it was how much tighter his irrigation management became. That level of precision matters, especially during hot stretches when crop demand changes quickly and irrigation timing becomes critical.

Taking Fertigation to the Next Level

Heeringa’s operation did not stop at irrigation automation. As a Certified Crop Advisor and Pest Control Advisor, he regularly attends continuing education courses and keeps a close eye on new research. One course focused on almond nutrient uptake curves and how smaller, more frequent fertilizer applications can improve nitrogen efficiency.

Heeringa used to fertigate between three and five times each season via his drip system before implementing automation. His approach evolved after discovering that HotSpot AG provided a fertilizer injector that could be controlled through the very same automation system.

Last season, Heeringa made more than 30 fertilizer applications while closely following crop demand and almond nitrogen uptake curves. The results spoke for themselves.

Even with reduced nitrogen use, the orchard maintained strong nutrient levels while improving efficiency and accuracy. Heeringa believes he still has room to fine-tune the process even further moving forward.

Using Soil Moisture Data with Field Experience

To further strengthen irrigation decision-making, Heeringa incorporated soil moisture probes into his operation. While field observations remain an important part of orchard management, quantitative moisture data provided additional confidence when evaluating irrigation timing and crop water uptake throughout the season. Supporting this added layer of confidence, the probes helped confirm that most irrigation activity stayed within the top 24 inches of soil. This matched Heeringa’s irrigation strategy of watering every three to four days.

As temperatures cooled in the fall, the probe graphs within his dashboard clearly showed reduced crop water uptake. That information helped Heeringa make better late-season irrigation decisions without second-guessing himself.

A More Connected Way to Farm

For Heeringa, the biggest benefit came from bringing everything together into one connected system. Irrigation scheduling, pump control, fertigation, monitoring, and soil moisture data all worked together through a single platform.Instead of reacting to problems after they happened, he gained the ability to make quicker and more informed decisions throughout the season.

His advice to other growers considering automation:

As energy costs rise and water management becomes more important across California, growers continue to  look for practical ways to improve efficiency without sacrificing crop performance. Heeringa’s experience shows how automation can simplify day-to-day management while helping growers gain tighter control over irrigation, fertilizer use, and overall orchard performance.