How Smart Irrigation Is Driving Better Decisions for Growers and Retailers

As agriculture continues to grapple with rising input costs, climate change, labor shortages, and increased pressure to conserve water, the industry’s move toward smarter, more data-driven farming is no longer optional — it’s essential. At the heart of this evolution lies precision irrigation, and few understand its full potential better than Mike Hemman, President of Netafim North America. In a recent appearance on CropLife Retail Week, Hemman shared his insights on how scalable smart technologies and AI-powered irrigation are reshaping the ag landscape, offering both growers and retailers new ways to drive ROI and make smarter decisions in real time.

Netafim, a subsidiary of global company Orbia, is well known for its innovations in drip irrigation. But as Hemman explains, their mission goes far beyond just delivering water — it’s about enabling smarter, site-specific decisions. “We’re focused across a lot of precision agriculture within the drip irrigation,” Hemman noted. “But the really important part… is how do you make the decision on how much water to deliver through that drip line? When does that water go? What’s the duration of the irrigation cycle?”

Precision Ag Meets Smart Tech

As agtech moves beyond basic monitoring, Hemman sees a clear shift from traditional precision ag into what CropLife and others are calling “smart tech.” This new phase integrates AI, IoT, and cloud-based crop models to empower autonomous decisions that improve both resource use and crop outcomes.

“For years, we’ve been able to remotely turn a valve on and off,” Hemman said. “Now, we can overlay site-specific data in the cloud, run it through a crop model, and use machine learning to say: based on the field conditions, the valve needs to turn on for this duration, which results in X amount of water, and this impact on the plant.”

In other words, growers can stop guessing. They can act with confidence, knowing their decisions are supported by real-time data, predictive analytics, and actionable insights — all of which ultimately reduce costs and improve yields.

Simplifying the Complex

However, one of the biggest barriers to adoption, Hemman said, is complexity. “It’s got to be simple,” he emphasized. “Farmers are getting thrown so much information. It’s not about the information — it’s about what do I do with it?”

Netafim is addressing this by offering solutions that are sensor-agnostic and scalable. That means the technology can work with a farmer’s existing hardware and grow with their operation — whether they’re starting with basic monitoring or scaling up to autonomous irrigation.

“We’re not trying to push one thing on everybody,” said Hemman. “It’s a process where they can build as they go.”

A New Role for Ag Retailers

This shift also opens doors for ag retailers to evolve from simple product suppliers into long-term strategic partners. “If the retailer is just the place where people go to buy fertilizer, they’re a storefront,” Hemman explained. “But if they’re providing actionable data and helping a farmer make better decisions, now they’re a trusted advisor.”

Smart irrigation systems enable retailers to shift from reactive selling to proactive advising. For example, a retailer could monitor a grower’s real-time soil data and suggest timely fertigation treatments, strengthening both crop performance and customer relationships.

ROI and Cost-Share Opportunities

In an uncertain ag economy, ROI is more important than ever — and precision irrigation can deliver. “There is a return on investment when you’re making better decisions,” Hemman said. “If you use data to use fertilizer or water more efficiently, there’s cost savings. But the challenge is the upfront capital investment.”

To overcome that, Hemman urges both growers and retailers to explore cost-share programs — from state and federal funding to private-sector partnerships with companies like Google and Microsoft. “In Utah, we’re doing a lot of work moving flood-irrigated alfalfa to drip,” he said. “There’s a 75% cost share for precision agriculture. That dramatically reduces the upfront investment.”

These public-private collaborations are helping farmers adopt new technologies while conserving water and improving sustainability metrics — goals that increasingly matter to everyone in the food supply chain.

Training for a New Business Model

Netafim is also helping retailers prepare for the business model shift that comes with smart irrigation. Instead of relying on input markups, retailers can generate recurring revenue through data services, monitoring, and advisory support.

“There’s a business shift that needs to happen here,” Hemman noted. “We help our dealers with business development, so they understand how to run their business differently when they’re selling a service instead of selling an input.”

Final Thoughts

The future of farming is not just digital — it’s dynamic, adaptable, and collaborative. With AI-powered irrigation, cloud-based crop modeling, and scalable tech solutions, growers and ag retailers are positioned to do more with less, even in challenging economic conditions.

“We’re seeing a real transformation in how farming can be done,” Hemman concluded. “It’s all about managing information and making better decisions. If we do that right, together, the result is higher yields, higher quality, and a better future for agriculture.”

• Watch: CropLife Retail Week: Special Netafim Edition