Hay field iragation

[David V]

Need some idea's please, I live in central Louisiana, and we are under a severe drought that started last year. I have a 6.5 acre hay field that I would like to water when needed. My thoughts are for a well to be drilled, and pipe to be layed under ground maybe with a few stub ups were I can hook sprinklers up to when I want to water and use a PTO powered pump to pull the water out of the ground. Any idea's out there, LOL and as always money is not overly abundant.

Dave

 

[Western]

Last quote I had to get a well drilled was $24 a foot. I don't know how deep you would have to go, but it seems to me overkill for 6.5 acres of hay.

A pond may be cheaper to pump from, or if you had a stream nearby you could get water from there maybe.

Kind of depends on some factors, your water may only be 50' deep down there??

 

[David V]

I have a well already, and I think the water is right at 60 feet. The well I have now is about 200 feet from the field. I keep the field fertilized and get quit a bit of hay off of it a year, enough to feed my 9 cows through the winter and sale around 100 4x5 round bales. I have a small pond by the hay field, but it's pretty dry, and no creek near the field.

 

[IronHog]

I have a well already, and I think the water is right at 60 feet. The well I have now is about 200 feet from the field. I keep the field fertilized and get quit a bit of hay off of it a year, enough to feed my 9 cows through the winter and sale around 100 4x5 round bales. I have a small pond by the hay field, but it's pretty dry, and no creek near the field.

My brother in law does hay........his day job is sprinklers.


We discussed the various options for hay irrigation this past weekend.........the consensus was it was very cost prohibitive.

Based on my limited knowledge your best way from a financial standpoint would be to use a tower type sprinkler or one of those rigs on the end of a pivot and find a way to use a tractor as a power unit........

 

[Duffster]

I think you would be looking at something like this system and water from an existing well or surface water.

Traveling Gun Systems

 

[flusher]

Need some idea's please, I live in central Louisiana, and we are under a severe drought that started last year. I have a 6.5 acre hay field that I would like to water when needed. My thoughts are for a well to be drilled, and pipe to be layed under ground maybe with a few stub ups were I can hook sprinklers up to when I want to water and use a PTO powered pump to pull the water out of the ground. Any idea's out there, LOL and as always money is not overly abundant.

Dave

Folks around here use pto-driven pumps to irrigate orchards with sprinklers and driplines (almonds, English walnuts, olives, prune plums).

My neighbor uses a diesel-driven well pump to irrigate several 10-acre alfafa fields using surface irrigation rather than sprinklers. The diesel was salvaged from a Nissan sedan and rigged for stationary use. The field has to be leveled and sloped slightly. Checks are plowed into the field to keep the water flowing in one direction. A water pipe is laid along the high side of the field with water outlets spaced every 20 ft or so.

 

[BeezFun]

Trucking in water is another option, not sure the relative costs there but my friend did that for years in NM before he could afford to dig a well. He wasn't too far from a place that had water, not sure how far you have to truck if there's a drought. You'd need some kind of tank, pump and spray heads for hay, so I guess the only thing you're saving is the cost of well drilling and pump. No idea which makes more sense. Cattle are about the most inefficient creatures at turning water and food into meat, so you've got that on top of a drought. Maybe you should raise hamsters.

 

[Western]

My neighbor uses a diesel-driven well pump to irrigate several 10-acre alfafa fields using surface irrigation rather than sprinklers. The diesel was salvaged from a Nissan sedan and rigged for stationary use. The field has to be leveled and sloped slightly. Checks are plowed into the field to keep the water flowing in one direction. A water pipe is laid along the high side of the field with water outlets spaced every 20 ft or so.

This is most common in Colorado too for Alfalfa. They purchase,or are granted so much water from the "dike" system and flood the fields through furrows plowed in the field. Makes for a bumpy ride and I have never seen it done for Bermuda, but I'm sure it could be.

The link Dufster supplied in his post seems to be the most economical for 6 acres, but you would need a good high capacity well, so you would still end up spending a considerable amount.

 

[5030]

Need some idea's please, I live in central Louisiana, and we are under a severe drought that started last year. I have a 6.5 acre hay field that I would like to water when needed. My thoughts are for a well to be drilled, and pipe to be layed under ground maybe with a few stub ups were I can hook sprinklers up to when I want to water and use a PTO powered pump to pull the water out of the ground. Any idea's out there, LOL and as always money is not overly abundant.
Dave

Neither is spelling. There is a little check mark (abc) in the right corner of the pre-post box. You need to activate it.

On the irrigation, it's cost prohibitive. Deal with mother nature as it is. I'd sell the cattle anyway. No money in feedlot hobby operations today.

Any type of flood irrigation is out. If it's that dry, you'll lower your well's water level, maybe even dry it up. You need to ascertain the GPM flow prior to drawing volume from it. Your equipment cost will be appreciable, the maintenance high and the return negligible.

I'd just watch it turn browm and be done with it.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

You should also look into whether a state permit is required to use groundwater for a commercial purpose. You may go unnoticed and get away with not getting the permit - but if a neighbor's well goes dry and he complains you might want to know ahead of time what the penalties are.

They tell me in Oklahoma you have to have such a permit to use well water for irrigation of a crop for sale.