Dave
Well-known member
The cattle all left on Thursday. So now this becomes my daily chore. Changing the irritation or irrigation, depending on my mod, how well things go, and how long the water holds up.
Irritation
- Thread starter Dave
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I’ve never seen a setup like that. You got my curiosity up now. How many of those things do you have to move? I obviously don’t know the layout and particulars of your operation, but would it easier at some point to install something that you just remove boards to adjust the water flow?
Dave
Well-known member
There are boards in the main ditch that turn some of the water down this field ditch. I run about 5 sets on this ditch. The water runs to the left in this picture. It is 150 yards or so to the river. Tomorrow morning the water will be to the river and 50 yards or so wide. I will pull the tarp and move it down stream to cover the next section. There is another ditch in this field. About 10 or 11 sets to cover the whole field. Something permanent in the ditches wouldn't work because every couple years you have to pull a ditch plow down the ditch to clean it out. Note the dirt along both sides of the ditch below the tarp. I just plowed this ditch a couple days ago. Altogether there is 12 field ditches on my place fed by 2 main ditches which bring water to me and my neighbors. My fuzzy adding I have about 44 sets. I just started and the one pictures is the only one I have going right now, Once I get geared up and going I will be changing 3 or 4 every morning. That is one of the biggest ones. The small ones I can change in just 5 minutes or so.
Travlr
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- NW Arkansas, W South Dakota, retired in Utah
LOL... a Freudian slip calling the thread "Irritation"? And then "depending on your mood"?
I enjoyed irrigating. One of the things I liked best because it got me out in the fields and there was no big rush. It was also challenging to make the sets so the water would go where I wanted it.
GoWyo
Well-known member
I don't mind irrigating except for skeeters and deer flies. They take most of the enjoyment out of it once they come out.
Dave
Well-known member
No Freudian slip. That is what my neighbor calls it, so I was just quoting him.
CowboyRam
Well-known member
Irrigating is an irritation, and a PITA at times. Once you start irrigating you are kind of married to it until the season is over. I'm looking into putting in a center pivot, that is if I can afford it. I'm currently waiting on the engineer from the NRCS come by tell me what all I need. They told me that the NRCS will fund up to 75%.
Dave
Well-known member
Our 2 ditches that come off the river aren't running full yet. But we nearly have the river dried up. I am hearing that they will start dumping water from the reservoir on Wednesday. Big meeting on Tuesday. We just got a little jump start on things. Why let the water run by. There is a lot more irrigated acres up stream around Hereford. Those guys aren't irrigating yet but they are going to start screaming for water pretty soon.
Dave
Well-known member
B has 7 or 8 center pivots. I remember one time when he was having issues with a pivot he mumbled something like. They said put in pivot they will be less trouble. They were wrong. My flood irrigation cost some new tarps every now and then. Gravity works for free. The pivot cost money to install and a good chunk of change to operate every year. I know a place I looked at before buying here had 100 acres under a pivot. They said the power bill to pump the water and run the pivot was $6,000+ a year.
Travlr
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I've seen some pivots that look abandoned. Apparently they don't work for everyone.
Dave
Well-known member
It was 30 degrees this morning. One has to question their sanity when changing irrigation on a 30 degree morning. Cold wet fingers in the cold wet water. Then hop on the quad to the next set. Then run that quad about half a mile back to the house with fingers that haven't got any warmer. I tell myself to cowboy up. There is a fine line between being tough and being stupid.
I know it’s technology, and we know how you feel about that, but a set of handlebar warmers and a thumb warmer would be a game changer.
CowboyRam
Well-known member
It was somewhere in the high 30's here this morning when I went out, and yes it was a little bit of a cool ride to change water. It is supposed to freeze tonight and tomorrow night.
Dave
Well-known member
It is pretty rare to have weather requiring any type of hand warmer here. And actually the thing I came up with while questioning my sanity was why change the water at 6:30 in the morning on a cool morning? It will be 60 degrees this afternoon. Doing it first thing in the morning is just a habit developed in the summer when it is going to be 90 or even 100 degrees later in the day.
I do understand why someone living in the frozen north with Eskimos as neighbors would be well versed in the subject of hand warmers. We do get a little bit of chilly weather down here but I don't make a habit of sticking my hands in water during those times.
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wbvs58
Well-known member
Even in our climate once the temp goes below 10C I start to lose feeling in my fingers just driving the Mule up to the back gate to feed the heifers of a morning, even with pretty heavy gloves on.
Ken
Ken
Dave
Well-known member
By my figures 10C is 50F. That is a step below Tee shirt weather. You have some real issues with circulation in your fingers. This morning at -1C with my fingers having been in cold water it was just mildly uncomfortable.
wbvs58
Well-known member
Yeh I know, even in spring when I'm breeding the cows I have to be real carefull to keep heavy gloves on when I go out in the morning otherwise my fingers won't start working until mid morning.
Ken
