I am planning to start a rotational grazing system on two of my rented farms. One is about 75 acres and has a spring fed creek running through the middle of it and the other is about 150 acres and has two nice ponds. An option for both is city water and buried water, but this is alot of expense for rented ground that is rented year to year. I read an article somewhere about running plastic pipe above ground from paddock to paddock, but I can't find the article. do any one you all do that? I am in KY so I couldn't do it all year, but maybe about 8 or 9 months. I can use a gas pump to pump water to a large holding tank on the 75 acre farm and disperse to water from the holding tank to each paddock. Still trying to figure out a decent way to move water from the two ponds on the other farm. Do any of you all have experience with solar pumps? Any thoughts about the lines above ground or any other advice would be appreciated.
Rotational Grazing Water Advise Needed
- Thread starter Devin
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We supply a nimber of pastures with water via 1 1/2 black plastic pipe above round and rubbermaid water tanks with float valves. Works great for us. We just drain the lines when it's getting towards winter. We graze those pastures in the late fall then start moving closer to the buried lines for the winter.
dun
dun
Dun,
What is your water source? Is it from a pond stream or city water. Also do you know about how fast your recovery rate is on your tank that is farthest form your water source? I am thinking the cows might tear up the tank trying to get water if the rate isn't fast enough. I know they have torn the float out of the bottom of a couple of my tanks that are under a pond. I would like to find a good way to use the water from the ponds on the new rented property if I could find a good way to pump it as needed by using a float valve on the tank end. I had considered trying to get a pipe through the dam of the pond on the center and use gravity, but a friend did that to his pond and now it is constantly wet were the pipe comes out and getting worse. Any additonal advise is appreciated. Thanks and have a good day.
What is your water source? Is it from a pond stream or city water. Also do you know about how fast your recovery rate is on your tank that is farthest form your water source? I am thinking the cows might tear up the tank trying to get water if the rate isn't fast enough. I know they have torn the float out of the bottom of a couple of my tanks that are under a pond. I would like to find a good way to use the water from the ponds on the new rented property if I could find a good way to pump it as needed by using a float valve on the tank end. I had considered trying to get a pipe through the dam of the pond on the center and use gravity, but a friend did that to his pond and now it is constantly wet were the pipe comes out and getting worse. Any additonal advise is appreciated. Thanks and have a good day.
tytower
Well-known member
I put mine in with a pipe layer behind the tractor but its owned land.
If I were renting I would lay out cheap 3/4 line on the fence line where possible and use a small 2 stroke pump to a plastic tank on a high point. Then feed to troughs again along fence lines ,plastic is easiest to move later
When you leave roll it up and take it all with you.You could use 1 1/2 up to the tank , its more expensive but easier to pump through.
You will get cattle and cars splitting the pipe every so often so not too big a holding tank as you will lose it all a few times. Means pumping more often
Easy to repair with a new section and plastic joiners and when you know where the bad points are you can replace those sections with heavy duty pipe or even dig in under gates etc
Putting a good post where the pipe goes into the trough is essential
If I were renting I would lay out cheap 3/4 line on the fence line where possible and use a small 2 stroke pump to a plastic tank on a high point. Then feed to troughs again along fence lines ,plastic is easiest to move later
When you leave roll it up and take it all with you.You could use 1 1/2 up to the tank , its more expensive but easier to pump through.
You will get cattle and cars splitting the pipe every so often so not too big a holding tank as you will lose it all a few times. Means pumping more often
Easy to repair with a new section and plastic joiners and when you know where the bad points are you can replace those sections with heavy duty pipe or even dig in under gates etc
Putting a good post where the pipe goes into the trough is essential
KenB
Well-known member
Devin":n186n0in said:
tytower
Well-known member
Devin":3icwrv3h said:
You need to cover the float assembly with a sheet metal shield -1/8th sheet folded only needs to be attached at the top
Considered a simple pipe in the pond with a filter and over the dam wall to a lower point and suck like mad . Once it flows it will keep on going.
A pipe through the dam wall needs a square collar both ends to stop that water flow down the sides of the pipe. He could dig in the middle of the wall down to the pipe and concrete one around the pipe , might stop it
Herefordcross
Well-known member
Rebar with a a piece of steel, like a cutter head, welded to it will drill through a clay dam with a heavy drill. did that once and put hydraulic cement around each end but, it didn't last too awful long to be honest but, worked for a while, ground foze and move and never did get it to seal back up, had to dump dirt on it.
The on top of the ground water line deal is the best idea i've heard so long as you don't need it in the winter or if you did need it in the winter and it doesn't get extremely cold where you are and can pump up the hill, take the plug out of the pump and drain the pipe good it should work.
The on top of the ground water line deal is the best idea i've heard so long as you don't need it in the winter or if you did need it in the winter and it doesn't get extremely cold where you are and can pump up the hill, take the plug out of the pump and drain the pipe good it should work.
Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions. I am leaning toward jsut getting a couple of bulk tanks on a hill, pumping up to them and putting floats on the tanks at this point. I am going to check on the price of pipe tomorrow!
If possible arrange the paddock divisions so that you can water multiple paddocks from the same water point. In one large pasture we break it into a minimum of 4 divisions with a water point in the middle. I set corral panels around the tank and as we move the cows from paddock to paddock I just move the opening to correspond with the new paddock. Sometimes it takes a bit of trickery with poly-wire to make the opening work when we have more smaller paddocks in that field, but it's doable.
dun
dun
Piped city water is the best thing we have done for our herd in a long time. We have virtually no illness since we cut off access to the pond. Of course on rented land, I don't if it would pay. You just need to put a pencil to it. If you use black poly, you can roll it back up and reuse it (if not damaged), but the water will get pretty hot if it's not buried.
cattleman1963
New member
use a solar slow pump. or do what dunn said, about sharing the watering hole
novatech
Well-known member
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
Devin
There are a couple of books that have good info on this subject. Here are links:
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/cgi- ... d=360.html
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/cgi- ... d=359.html
You can use HDPE (high density polyethelyne) pipe above ground. The HDPE has been referred to as "burst proof" from freezing, whereas the black poly pipe you get at most hardware stores will burst when frozen and deteriorate due to sunlight. I got a local supplier to get it for me a few years ago and am well pleased with it. Used it on a leased place a couple of years then rolled it up when I left. Hard freezing is not a big problem here but it has never burst and being black it thaws with a little sunshine. I use it year around.
Here's a link to a supplier of this pipe:
http://www.kygraziers.com/kgshop/
There are a couple of books that have good info on this subject. Here are links:
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/cgi- ... d=360.html
http://www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/cgi- ... d=359.html
You can use HDPE (high density polyethelyne) pipe above ground. The HDPE has been referred to as "burst proof" from freezing, whereas the black poly pipe you get at most hardware stores will burst when frozen and deteriorate due to sunlight. I got a local supplier to get it for me a few years ago and am well pleased with it. Used it on a leased place a couple of years then rolled it up when I left. Hard freezing is not a big problem here but it has never burst and being black it thaws with a little sunshine. I use it year around.
Here's a link to a supplier of this pipe:
http://www.kygraziers.com/kgshop/
Thanks for all of the advise. I have now got it down on paper and can make it work with two watering points. Gotta have my gall bladder taken out in the morning so after I recover I am going to make this work. Thanks for the links. Have good day everybody.
Devin
Devin
