does anyone in this group have specific idea on how big or what size motor
to use and the type of heads used in pivot irrigation?
Thanks,
Pedro
"Aido" aido_at_mybad_dot_co_dot_uk wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Nov 2002 08:25:06 -0600, Dean Hoffman

wrote:

It's because of center pivot irrigation systems. The irrigation
system
rotates around a fixed point. The water and power supply for the system
attaches at that point. There are thousands of these sprinklers in
farming
areas. The circles you're seeing are probably 1/2 to 1 mile across.
Most
irrigation systems are set up to irrigate a quarter section. That size
would
make a 1/2 mile circle. Crops ore planted in a straight line just as in
conventional farming. The perfect circle effect you see is just the
watered
area. The crops aren't usually planted that way.
Irrigation is pretty common in states generally west of a line running
from
the west border of Minnesota south to the Gulf of Mexico. The farther
west
one is the drier the climate. The Front (eastern) Slope of the Rocky
Mountains is dry because the mountains block the rainfall.
Eastern Nebraska gets about 26" of precipitation a year. That's enough
to
raise crops if the rains come at the right time. Crops usually stay
green
all summer even if they don't produce much. You probably wouldn't notice
the irrigation systems from the air but they're here. Nebraska had about
6.9 million acres of irrigated cropland in 1997. Just under 63% of that
was irrigated with pivots. There's more pivot irrigation now as farmers
quit using less efficient methods.

Thanks for the reply Dean, that explains everything she asked me!

Cheers,


Aido