Cranberry marshes have a long growing season faced with extreme temperatures. Combating the temperature difference, farmers like Lord Electric & Control and their clients irrigate the bogs when the temperature rises and flood them in low temperatures to prevent soil moisture from freezing. Keeping the bogs at a consistent moisture and temperature was a timely and inefficient task: someone in the field would have to personally monitor and activate pumps at each
individual bog.

Joe Lord, owner of Lord Electric & Control, initially chose Horner because of the functionality and adaptability of our XL7 controller. They were able to quickly pick up our robust XL7 and XLE and program them to suit their needs. With the intuitive nature and easeof- use of our Cscape software, along with help from Horner Tech Support, Lord was able to successfully and effectively program their irrigation motors for frost protection and irrigation for cranberry marshes. They now use the same products to install automated systems for clients throughout Wisconsin within the cranberry growing industry.

On one marsh alone, Lord saves roughly 100 man-hours/day, maintains improved fuel savings for transportation, and sees higher return on the 25 diesel pumps that are automated to pump water only when needed. Spending only one quarter of the time driving than they used to, one of Lord’s clients (Whiskey Creek Cranberry/Geghardt Cranberry) set up controllers in their trucks so they can check the bogs before having to drive out to them, allowing them to prioritize pumps needing manual service.

“One of the reasons why I picked Horner was their functionality, being able to constantly adapt and add in more items or features that we need to add into our systems. As the growers grow, we can grow along with them.”

~ Joe Lord, Lord Electric & Control, Warrens, Wisconsin