The National Inventors Hall of Fame is inducting three people who made an impact on agriculture.
The late Frank Zybach of Nebraska was a metal worker and inventor who developed an initial system in the 1940s. In 1952, Zybach was granted a patent on a larger irrigation system with a 600-foot boom that could water a 135-acre circle or all but the corners of a standard 160-acre section of land.
Two years later, Valley Manufacturing acquired the patent rights from Zybach, and today, the Omaha-based Valmont Industries Inc.
