The 360 Rain technology is generating interest beyond irrigation

Talk to any agronomist, crop advisor, plant breeder or retailer about limiting factors in crop production, and weather, specifically available moisture -is most often cited. Without sufficient rain, the best equipment, the most accurate planting depths and precise fertility levels are greatly diminished in value.

Now the technology exists with the 360 Rain system, a completely automated design available to producers in Canada for the 2025 growing season. To generate interest and gauge demand, visitors to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show this past September had the opportunity to see the 360 Rain unit, ask questions and learn more about its operating potential. It was on display atGrand River Robotics, its dealer in Ontario. The company has established another in B.C.

“We have 125 machines across the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe and South America.”

The first year of operation for the 360 Rain system was 2022, with parent company 360 Yield Center starting with 10 machines in the U.S. The following year, 30 units were added while production increased. In the simplest of terms, it’s an automated Y-Drop unit for irrigation, fertigation and manure applications.

“Our first machines in Canada were running in B.C. in 2024,” says Loren Weaver, regional manager with 360 Yield Center in Morton, Illinois. “In total, we have about 125 machines running across the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe and South America.”

Simple is best
The technology is an autonomous, diesel-powered/electric drive unit capable of covering 200 acres with up to 3,000 feet of hose. It connects to a water source through a three-inch hose applying up to 0.5 inches of water per pass. Those follow the paths laid out by planter passes and operate through cellular and dedicated RTK networks. The vertical hose reel that connects to the water source uses sensor systems to lay the hose as it moves along what the company calls a “backbone path” away from the water source. The unit then retrieves the hose as the 360 Rain unit moves back towards the water source, with little or no damage to standing crops.

To reduce evaporation, the manifold on the 360 Rain system can distribute water and nutrients along a 60- or 80-foot boom to drops that lay water (and nutrients or manure) in a 15-inch band directly over the root zone. The 60-foot boom is outfitted with 12 drops for 30-inch rows, for use with a 24-row planter and the 80-foot boom has 16 drops for 30-inch rows, suitable for use with 16-row planter units. It’s also user friendly, with an app for IOS systems.

Considerable interest
The technology is garnering as much attention because of its adaptability; more than a one-dimensional irrigation unit, the 360 Rain system can add fertigation to its list of options along with applying manure at any time of the growing season. Corn is the favoured crop for use with the unit, with Weaver noting the machine’s unique ability to cover odd-shaped fields. With the liquid manure management capability, it can benefit hog and dairy operations, with an impeller that breaks up solids, allowing an operator to inject manure into the water stream and apply it in the same 15-inch band above the root zone. It’s not injecting or incorporating manure but mixing it with water means there isn’t a need for rain to activate it.

“When we can eliminate that stress from the crop, yields show it.”

With the additional options, the 360 Rain technology is becoming a more cost-efficient decision for producers, regardless of whether they’re Canadian or American.

“There’s as much or more interest in Canada as there is in the U.S. Midwest,” says Weaver. “Irrigation isn’t as common in southern Ontario, although there are usually a few weeks throughout the year where additional water is craved. When we can eliminate that stress from the crop, yields show it. Couple that with the ability to spoon-feed nutrients right at the root base, all season-long and the value of the machine is huge.”

Yield increases will vary from region-to-region and field-to-field, although significant results can be achieved with a single watering in the middle of a drought. Repeated applications, state the company manual, during the course of the growing season can add 50 or more bushels per acre of corn.

“Those numbers are given to us by our customers,” adds Weaver. “Most guys will get a test strip or two in the field to see the difference. Our yield results for irrigation machines across the U.S. for three years now is 51.3 bushels per acre increase.”

Value add
Yield estimates combined with reduced costs for manure applications are projected to add value to the 360 Rain system, and Weaver predicts Ontario will be the region with the more significant growth in Canada, despite the need for irrigation across many parts of the Prairies. When the benefits of fertigation are added to the nutrient management capacity, the value continues to grow, particularly with ongoing concerns about nutrient run-off around southern Ontario and its proximity to the Great Lakes. Whether it comes from mismatched fertilizer requirements or over-application of manure, environmental sensitivity remains a huge issue for producers.

“I’ve had a few meetings with environmental groups in the U.S. over the last few years and they are definitely excited about this machine,” says Weaver. “Banding the nutrients right at the root base while the crop is growing is next-level efficiency.”

As for a cost breakdown of the technology, the figures from 360 Yield Center estimate a U.S. grower will take less than five years to pay off the initial purchase, based on the following figures:

• a reduction in purchased nitrogen -from 200 units per acres to 120
• savings on custom manure applications (based on 10,000 gallons of applied manure), and
• added revenue from yield gains in corn

For more information, go to:
https://www.grrobotics.ca/
https://www.360yieldcenter.com/products/360-rain/