Why Lumo is a No-Brainer for Eric Morley, the Owner of Red Door Ranch Vineyards
“Investing in Lumo was a no-brainer.”
That’s Eric Morley, Owner of Red Door Ranch Vineyards in Paso Robles.
“I thought your cost was right sized, even for a small vineyard. I have the fewest economies of scale. I’m four blocks over three acres, and even for that, I thought it made a lot of sense. It would be a no-brainer for larger vineyards as you scale up.”
On the need for automation and visibility.
“I started out completely manual when we first planted in 2014. So, you go out, turn the water on, wait three hours, walk out, shut it off. Obviously that wasn't gonna work.
“And then we moved to a typical automated Hunter system. Not remote, but automated, so I could at least start programming daily or weekly sets.
“But the problem with that was you're not able to fine tune or get granular, or respond to weather conditions or leaks. You don’t have any real visibility into what's happening in the vineyard. And with the amount of time I spend travelling, I needed something reliable and predictable, that I could control and monitor remotely.”
“Then I talked to Cliff Cate, the Owner of Zobèto Wines.”
“Cliff and I are good friends. We're constantly sharing best practices and recent hacks we’ve come across, and he said, ‘Hey, you should come check out my new Lumo system.’
“So I went on to the website and was like, ‘This is exactly what I've been looking for.’ I'd always been looking for an irrigation system that was both automation and visibility in one. But given how small we are, I couldn't really find or get comfortable with anything both from a technology and price standpoint.
“Then I started talking to your team and it was perfect. I love the product. It’s awesome, both in terms of automation, set it and forget it, and also the updates I get on my iPhone about irrigations. If anything is irregular, I can head out to the vineyard or I can dispatch my vineyard manager to go out and take a look.”
“It’s seamless. It’s convenient. It’s easy. The UI is great.”
“I’m just dialing into the analytics. So if I’m trying to get an inch of water on the vines a month, I can now measure that across the season and see whether I’m on track with my plan.
“Right now with the economics of grape growing and wine making, everyone’s focused on limiting CapEx.
"But you’re super competitive on price. Your team is super responsive and helpful.
“I’m saving money by not having to send my vineyard manager out to turn valves or check for issues. I’m saving water by being more strategic and not misapplying or running the system while having leaks I don’t know about. The data and analytics are super valuable.
“And you reduce the frictional costs of managing everything by minimizing all the back and forth communication that would usually be required. If I didn’t have your system, I’d have somebody out checking way more regularly.
“That’s what I mean when I say investing in Lumo is a no-brainer.”
If you've also been searching for a precision irrigation system with accountable automation and block-level visibility, request a demo or contact us at [email protected]