Irrigation Info Needed

super99 · Mar 4, 2015

Anyone have a irrigator? I'm toying with the idea. I have 70 acres of sandy hill land, the north 35 acres are gently rolling to flat, the south end has a huge hill in it. There is a natural gas pipeline runs thru the north end of the farm. I'm thinking about a center pivot for the north end of the farm. How much do they cost to purchase & install? Operating costs? How long to pay back? In a dry year, the sandy spots burn up. Yields vary from just over 100 bu/a in a dry year to 170 to 180 in a wet year. My house well is 340' deep, would the well for the irrigator have to be deeper? What about LP gas power supply over electric? Wondering about how far from the pipeline the well would need to be. To have the electric on the south side of the pipeline, electric would have to be trenched in over 1/4 mile. Wondering if it would be more economical to have a LP powered pump?
The other side of this is, I'm 63, will I live long enough to see this paid for?? The pictures are from the top of my grain bin looking south toward the corn and west from the house, the bean field is where I would like to irrigate. Chris

gene bender · Mar 4, 2015

You better get a price on a new well that you will need for your project. That cost will probably stop your thinking on the whole project. Next check local laws are you ready to spend 100.00 per Acre for fuel to run the pump.

rrlund · Mar 4, 2015

They're thicker than bugs on a bumper around here,but I don't know how you'd pay for it with corn and soybeans. They go in around here for potatoes and dry beans but get used on corn in rotation. I think it's gonna make more economical sense to loose a crop to drought now and then.

David G · Mar 4, 2015

No way it would pay off for you.

DeltaRed · Mar 4, 2015

NRCS has cost share programs for that sort of thing.They 'buy' a lot of projects here in our area.

Wheatfarmer · Mar 4, 2015

DeltaRed is correct. NRCS will help with NEW installment. You have to apply soon. If not this year keep applying. You have to do the numbers for the cost, and THE TIME. Will it pay for you, our kids or their kids, or if the land is sold. Photo is of the Fall hay crop after replanting in the spring. Pivot was already there. Friends place.

showcrop · Mar 4, 2015

I have friend in his late seventies who just bought what used to be a dairy Farm. he built a new house, Has fixed the buildings up for equipment storage, repair and home for his sawmill and now has his log yard laid out. it is like he is starting out all over and not worried a lick about it paying off.

coonie minnie · Mar 4, 2015

It depends on a lot of things.

Where are you?

I have irrigation in SE WI. In some years it pays big dividends, others not. We put in two new pivots in April of 2012. Conditions at the time (big drought, high prices) meant I paid for most of those machines in one season.

Those conditions may not be seen together for a while with current crop prices.

First you need to determine if you have water, and what a well would cost. If you can't get water, you don't need to worry about going further.

A pivot would be around a $1000 an acre irrigated, without getting power out there. You can use a generator to run a pivot.

If there is a natural gas line, use that to power the pivot and well. We dug a new well in 2013 near a pipeline... the gas company would not let us tap the line, but DID hook us to a small feeder for the whopping sum of $50!

Natural gas in the summer is a very cheap source of fuel.

My operating costs are usually around $50 an acre. Crop insurance would be near that here, and would only cover 70% or so of average dryland yield.

Irrigation Info Needed

super99

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gene bender

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rrlund

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David G

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DeltaRed

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Wheatfarmer

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showcrop

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coonie minnie

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