Irrigation, Reservoirs & Scheduling
Irrigation: How It Works
The end-to-end sequence, stage by stage, with nothing skipped.
The module is modelled as an explicit state machine with 8 stages. Every record knows which stage it is at, what has to happen to move on, and what is blocking it if it cannot. Irrigation scheduling based on soil moisture deficit and evapotranspiration rather than habit typically delivers substantial water and energy savings alongside better crop uniformity. This module runs the scheduling model, manages reservoir storage and refill, and appraises the capital case for winter storage against a summer abstraction licence that may not always be available.
End to end
How Irrigation runs, start to finish
The module is modelled as a state machine, so at any point the business knows exactly which stage every record is at and what has to happen next.
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1
Establish soil water holding capacity by field
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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2
Install and calibrate monitoring
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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3
Model the deficit daily
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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4
Plan irrigation against licence headroom
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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5
Apply and record volumes
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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6
Monitor uniformity and energy use
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
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7
Manage reservoir refill through winter
Results feed the whole-farm view, so the effect of this stage is visible against the rest of the business.
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8
Review seasonal efficiency and yield response
The cycle closes here, and what is learned is carried into next season's plan rather than lost.
Sequence
The order things happen in
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Stage 1
Establish soil water holding capacity by field
This is where the record starts, and getting it right here removes work at every later stage.
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Stage 2
Install and calibrate monitoring
The platform prompts only for what this stage genuinely needs, and carries everything forward.
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Stage 3
Model the deficit daily
Conflicts with scheme rules, regulatory windows and existing commitments are flagged here rather than discovered later.
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Stage 4
Plan irrigation against licence headroom
Capture works offline, so this stage is completed in the field rather than remembered afterwards.
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Stage 5
Apply and record volumes
Everything recorded at this point becomes evidence automatically, in every format that will later ask for it.
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Stage 6
Monitor uniformity and energy use
This is the stage most businesses currently do twice, once for the operation and once for the paperwork.
Before you start
What you will need, and what the module handles for you
Most of this comes across automatically once your holding is registered. The list is here so nothing arrives as a surprise.
In practice
Six things Irrigation changes on day one
None of these requires a new process. They all come from recording the work you already do, once, in a form the rest of the platform can use.
Soil moisture deficit modelling by
Soil moisture deficit modelling by field, soil type and crop stage.
Evapotranspiration-based scheduling with local weather
Evapotranspiration-based scheduling with local weather input.
Soil moisture sensor integration with
Soil moisture sensor integration with calibration to field capacity.
Irrigation event planning, execution and
Irrigation event planning, execution and recording.
Application uniformity assessment for booms
Application uniformity assessment for booms, guns and drip.
Reservoir storage volume, refill and
Reservoir storage volume, refill and drawdown management.
Obligation calendar
What irrigation asks of you, and when
Windows, deadlines and recurring obligations for England. Set a different nation and the calendar reconfigures; farm across a border and it shows both, reconciled.
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February 1 entry
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3 February: Animal Health and Welfare Pathway
Rolling application.
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March 1 entry
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3 March: Plan irrigation against licence headroom
A recurring step in irrigation.
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April 1 entry
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20 April: Adding Value Grant
Round-based.
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May 1 entry
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9 May: Install and calibrate monitoring
A recurring step in irrigation.
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June 2 entries
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5 June: Farming Transformation Fund
Round-based by theme.
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15 June: Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026
Two windows in 2026: window one from 30 June, window two from September.
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July 3 entries
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10 July: Model the deficit daily
A recurring step in irrigation.
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14 July: Slurry Infrastructure Grant
Round-based.
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17 July: Water Management Grant
Round-based.
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August 1 entry
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12 August: Establish soil water holding capacity by field
A recurring step in irrigation.
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October 1 entry
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5 October: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund
Round-based, usually open for a defined application period.
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November 2 entries
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12 November: Improving Farm Productivity Grant
Round-based.
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27 November: Environmental Land Management Capital Grants
Round-based, with rapid allocation once open.
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December 1 entry
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26 December: Countryside Stewardship
Rolling and round-based depending on the tier and option group.
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Questions answered
What people ask about Irrigation
Does this replace the software I already use?
Not necessarily. Agrivencia integrates with authoritative sources and mainstream packages rather than insisting on replacing them. Where an incumbent does one job well, the platform connects to it; where the job spans several systems and nobody does it, the platform does it.
Will it work where I have no signal?
Yes. Field capture in Irrigation is offline first, storing locally and synchronising when a connection returns. Only around a fifth of UK farms report reliable signal across the whole holding, so this is a design assumption rather than a feature.
What happens when the scheme rules change?
Scheme rules are held as data rather than code, so a rate change, a cap change or a window closure is a content update that takes effect the same day. The platform also alerts you to what the change does to your own position.
Who owns the data I put in?
You do. The Farm Data Charter gives you a complete export in open formats at any time, and every instance of data sharing requires an explicit, revocable consent that is visible in your account.
Does it work if I farm across a border?
Yes, and that is one of the main reasons the platform exists. A business with land in more than one nation sees one reconciled view rather than two portals, with obligations and deadlines from both administrations in a single calendar.
Can my agronomist or land agent use it too?
Yes. You grant scoped, time-limited access per holding and per module, and you can revoke it in one click. Advisers never get a shared password or a blanket view.
What is the biggest limitation of this module?
Sensor drift. Mitigated by scheduled recalibration. We would rather state that plainly than let you discover it after signing.
What we are hearing
The problems people describe to us
These are composite statements drawn from user research conversations, not attributed customer quotes. We publish named references only with written consent.
I am not short of software. I am short of one place where the same field means the same thing in all of it.
The scheme closed on a Tuesday evening. I had the application half built. Nobody told me the budget was nearly gone.
We farm on both sides of the border. Everything takes twice as long and I still cannot see the whole position on one screen.
Audit week costs me three days. Every single record they ask for is already written down somewhere on this farm.
See Irrigation running on your own holding
Thirty minutes, using your parcels, your schemes and your enterprises rather than a sample farm. No obligation and no sales script — if it does not fit your business we will say so.
- Free tier available
- No card required
- Your data stays yours