Farmers, can you tell me about those giant sprinkler systems out in your fields?

Question

Tell me the detailed story about them.

How much does each section cost...do you buy or rent/lease them?

How do you move them, do you tow them around with your tractor?

How often do you have to use them?

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity!

Answer 1

I think you are talking about a pivoting system.  The cost of it depends.  Most of them move by themselves using small electric engines attached to each section.  The time you use it depends on the crop, weather, soil,etc

Answer 2

Pivotal Sprinklers...They have their advantages and disadvantages.  

Some of the advantages are less time spent irrigating large fields.

They can cover and water ground that isn't level

They come in many different configurations...some will even get the corners with a trailing set of sprinklers that will swing out and get the corners.

You program them at the panel that is located at the center of the pivot.  

To move them when harvesting you go to the box and turn the thing on (the motors and not the pump that pumps the water) ...go have lunch and when you are done with lunch the thing has moved far enough so you can get the area that they had been sitting on....this is what we have to do in the hay fields, other crops probably have different protocols...

The outside wheels, of course, move much faster than each subsequent set of wheels and as they get closer to the center that set of wheels moves much slower....each set of wheels are run by motors that are managed by a computer system from the main box...

The ones that I dealt with are much like going to the search and help section on your computer...it will ask you want you want to do and gives a list of options...and you go on from there..

I don't know how often they are on and off it just really depends on their speed, the amount of ground they have to cover, temperatures, and what they are watering.  

As far as the evaporation problem they have been greatly improved upon since the first ones came out.  They have changed the configurations of the sprinklers, the amount of water coming out, the distance the sprinklers are from the ground, the watering times (am vs. pm) etc....

And they don't wash the ground out like flood irrigation does...

They really do not use as much water as flood irrigation, hand lines, or wheel lines.  

BUT....unless they are pumped out of the canals that are fed by reservoirs they are pumping water out of the ground.

Now for the downside....they are pumping water out of the ground and are not putting any water back into the ground like flood irrigation does.  So they do not replenish the aquifers and only take from the aquifer...unless they are fed water from the canals....but the water from the canals has to be filtered because of the dirt....

They will only water about 3 inches down in the dirt and this can be good or bad depending on which problem or solution you are looking at.

They leave giant ruts in the fields....these have to be filled in periodically for hay fields (5 to 7 year crop) and get filled in when the land is worked after harvest for other crops....

The ruts result in lost forages...this is considered a minor loss

Most pivotal do not get the corners so hand lines have to be used....

The engineers are constantly working on the rut problem but none has been found yet.

The other downside is cost.  I don't know what the cost of them is because I have never looked into buying one for my place.

I have asked the farmer who have them and all they say is PLENTY!  And that part of the cost is sometimes covered by grants that are given to the farmers to help defray the cost by the Dept of Agriculture....

I use flood type irrigation....To sprinkle my ground I would have to look into wheel lines because of the configuration of my ground would never work for a pivotal...

When we hay the pivotal fields we treat each area in-between the ruts as mini fields....and we start in the center when raking the hay and we go around the outsides first when swathing the hay.  They bale the hay by going around the outsides first as well....

I prefer sprinkled fields over corrugated fields when having to drive the tractors over them.  The sprinkled fields are much smoother and when you spend 12 to 16 hours in a tractor you certainly begin to prefer smooth fields over the corrugated fields.

Answer 3

This is a really inefficient way to irrigate - a great deal of water is lost to evaporation. A trickle irrgation system is cheaper, simpler to maintain and far more cost efficient.

Answer 4

The giant sprinklers you refer to are called pivot irrigation systems.  They are set up attached to a pivot in the center of the field that they rotate about.  A pivot irrigation system will be permanently placed in a field so it does not get "towed" from field to field.  I farmed in a area that did not have a lot of pivot irrigation.  However, I know the equipment that goes into a pivot irrigation system and I suspect the cost on a large unit with about 500 acres of coverage will cost well over $100,000.  The water pumping unit alone on a large pivot irrigation system will run between $30,000 and $50,000.  And in a pivot irrigation system that covers 500 acres you are talking about pumping an immense amount of water.  To apply 1 inch of water over the entire field will require pumping 13.6 million gallons of water.  

Most pivot irrigation systems are used in drier climates so the intention is to use the system every year.  And it will be used several times during the year and will normally apply well over 12 inches of water each year (actual amount will depend on climate and weather conditions).  The purpose of a pivot irrigation system is to reduce and almost eliminate the effect dry weather can have on a crop.  

Valley Irrigation is a major manufacturer of pivot irrigation systems.  You can go to their website www.valmont.com for more information about pivot irrigation systems.