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Grass hay irrigation #6838953
04/11/20 08:40 PM
04/11/20 08:40 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
J
Jackdale Offline OP
trapper
Jackdale  Offline OP
trapper
J

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
I figure somebody on here has some experience with the topic. I recently bought a house from some old folks that haven't done anything with it in years. I'd like to grow some grass for horse hay. The place has old irrigation well that I had tested, it has a lot of water. Most people growing hay around here use hand or wheel lines but I've seen these heavy duty sprinklers that come on wheels and spray 150-200ft diameter. They run about 200 bucks, hand line is over$100 a 40' section new. The sprinkler runs off 2" hose and seems like it would be easier to use and more versatile. Would that work?

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838958
04/11/20 08:46 PM
04/11/20 08:46 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
D
danny clifton Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
danny clifton  Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
D

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
How many horses you planing on feeding? That will tell you how many tons of hay you need and how many acres of pasture. Your best bet is talk to some of the cowboys where you live.


Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838960
04/11/20 08:47 PM
04/11/20 08:47 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 41,592
Northern Maine
Bruce T Offline
trapper
Bruce T  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 41,592
Northern Maine
Have hated since I was a kid on the family farm and worked growing up on various farms during hay season and have never seen or heard of anyone ever watering hay crops.


Nevada bound
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838961
04/11/20 08:48 PM
04/11/20 08:48 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
D
danny clifton Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
danny clifton  Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
D

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
well bruce they do in the west


Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838965
04/11/20 08:49 PM
04/11/20 08:49 PM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
D
danny clifton Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
danny clifton  Offline
"Grumpy Old Man"
D

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 29,750
williamsburg ks
and that is why you need to talk to the local cowboys jack dale


Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838966
04/11/20 08:49 PM
04/11/20 08:49 PM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,459
Oregon
H
H2ORat Offline
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H2ORat  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,459
Oregon
Lots of pros and cons to those systems and the pump considerations are very different -- pm me if you want more info and i can figure out the specifics, and don't necessarily believe the throw distances - they usually measure them outside drop to outside drop not necessarily wetted diameter is usually about 70% depending on wind and other factors. By the way how much does your power cost?

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838970
04/11/20 08:53 PM
04/11/20 08:53 PM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
N
nvwrangler Offline
trapper
nvwrangler  Offline
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N

Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
Lots of dairies use what your talking about, ive seen alot of them in use but never messed with them. I know you roll them out and they wind them self up. The biger ones run off the same main line that wheel lines and hand line hook up too.

Last edited by nvwrangler; 04/11/20 08:55 PM.
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6838993
04/11/20 09:08 PM
04/11/20 09:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,136
B61-12 vicinity, MO
T
TreedaBlackdog Offline
trapper
TreedaBlackdog  Offline
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T

Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,136
B61-12 vicinity, MO
You folks out east are dealing with 3-4X the amount of rain - hence no need for irrigation. I only knew of some folks in North Dakota west of Bismarck that irrigated and that was center pivots.....he would hay it and then go back with cover crop and graze through it. His hay and grazing time was producing more for him as compared to row cropping it.

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839008
04/11/20 09:18 PM
04/11/20 09:18 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
J
Jackdale Offline OP
trapper
Jackdale  Offline OP
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J

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
We don't get much if any rain July-sept where I'm at. I'm doing this as a property enhancement as much as feeding my horses. Should help if we decide to sell someday instead of growing weeds and dirt.

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839014
04/11/20 09:22 PM
04/11/20 09:22 PM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
N
nvwrangler Offline
trapper
nvwrangler  Offline
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N

Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 4,822
Nevada
Try it if you can make it pay upgrade to wheel lines

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839021
04/11/20 09:26 PM
04/11/20 09:26 PM
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,367
Texas
J
jtg Offline
trapper
jtg  Offline
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J

Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,367
Texas
We grow around 400 acres of hay. It takes a lot of water for irrigation. A pond is much better than a well, because you don't have to lift the water hundred's of feet. We only irrigate when we have droughts, but mostly for starting new fields. I have some irrigation equipment for sale if anyone is interested. I have a reel with three inch hose, that you can adjust the amount of water. I pull it out with a tractor and it reels in. I also have a large trailer with alum pipe with sprinkler heads.
For the last few years they have been opening the lake dam to prevent flooding homes down steam, so I no longer need it.

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839033
04/11/20 09:32 PM
04/11/20 09:32 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
J
Jackdale Offline OP
trapper
Jackdale  Offline OP
trapper
J

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 256
Montana
Our well hits water at 30ft and pumps 100+gal a minute. Just for more info.

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839051
04/11/20 09:46 PM
04/11/20 09:46 PM
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,308
MT
S
snowy Offline
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snowy  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,308
MT
^ I'm far from an expert on your question what would work or what would be better system for you. I owned an irrigated farm and it was flood irrigated and worked very well for me. I looked into wheel line many times but nevah pulled the plug on doing it. I had a few chances to buy used lines and instead stayed with flood system.

I know many that have had wheel lines and or the sprinkler systems that you are talking about. I believe both work very well in their own way and largely depends on acre numbers.

If you don't have a lot to irrigated acres to do, a sprinkler system is a great way and a lot of people use them here.

If there is anyway to flood is a great way way, to put on water. The land needs to be laying right or some leveling/sloping but can be a great way and in most years just need to do it a couple of times.

Interesting how people don't realize in the west we have to have irrigation for hay ground/pasture etc.. If irrigation wouldn't be an option in the west it would be like living in the dessert with nothing most years. And in the west most is dessert land and relies on crops/hay from out of area that have irrigation or from wetter parts of the country for those livestock product.



Last edited by snowy; 04/11/20 10:16 PM.

Give me a fish, I will eat for a day. Teach me to fish, I will eat for a lifetime
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839072
04/11/20 09:56 PM
04/11/20 09:56 PM
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,804
Greene County,Virginia
R
run Offline
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run  Offline
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R

Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,804
Greene County,Virginia
In the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, some people irrigate pasture for dairy cows.


wanna be goat farmer.
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839234
04/12/20 12:19 AM
04/12/20 12:19 AM
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,459
Oregon
H
H2ORat Offline
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H2ORat  Offline
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H

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,459
Oregon
The ones that Nvwrangler is talking about are hard hose reels -- we have lots of them in this area-- i have even built a couple (small ones) The reason the dairies use them the most is that you can also run slurry through them (large nozzle size) not thte most effecient but they work well. One of my customers has 27 of them all with booster pumps mounted to them(not a dairy.

Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: Jackdale] #6839577
04/12/20 10:57 AM
04/12/20 10:57 AM
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
Pawnee Offline
trapper
Pawnee  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 6,190
Kansas
Jack, do you know what pump you have or the amount of head it can pump? If it’s a low pressure pump it may not work well with a spool sprinkler without a booster pump. Your well guy can provide you with a pump curve and then you will be able to see if it will work. As mentioned above flood irrigation is very effective on smaller fields if they are fairly level and graded. Flood could be more efficient depending on the amount of wind you get. A lot goes into a cost effective irrigation system.


Everything the left touches it destroys
Re: Grass hay irrigation [Re: danny clifton] #6839587
04/12/20 11:08 AM
04/12/20 11:08 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 41,592
Northern Maine
Bruce T Offline
trapper
Bruce T  Offline
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 41,592
Northern Maine
Originally Posted by danny clifton
well bruce they do in the west

Interesting.Growing up most my summers was haying.Nobody around here water their hay fields.


Nevada bound
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