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Post by pontiac1940 on Sept 27, 2022 3:36:50 GMT
Inspired by BuckSkin . I was able to get out for 3 hours this afternoon and walked in the valley (Today's Photo) and took some corn silage photos on the way home. These are photos from two different farms about 5 km west of our house. Farm A John Deere 8600 harvester (Means nothing to me other than it is big and expensive  )  Farm B
Claas 960 Jaguar harvester    |
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Post by BuckSkin on Sept 27, 2022 4:23:44 GMT
Thanks; I really enjoy these.
I like those Western Star trucks.
Their corn may not be as thick and tall but their rows sure are long.
Although both these outfits are using self-propelled choppers, I have noticed a trend toward going back to the big pull-behind choppers; it makes good sense for a number of reasons --- the main one being our recent experience.
I have also noticed those big pull-behinds have extra-long tongues and the only reason I can figure for such long tongues is to keep any possibility of a fire as far from the tractor as possible.
You hardly ever hear of a tractor or a pull-behind chopper burning; whereas, those self-propelled versions are highly fire prone; everything that could burn and everything that could start a fire is just too close and crowded; and, when it burns, it all burns.
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Post by pontiac1940 on Sept 27, 2022 4:44:04 GMT
Their corn may not be as thick and tall but their rows sure are long. Most irrigated fields here are ¼ sections (160 acres), meaning the maximum length is ½ mile. Dryland fields tend to be larger....there are some full-section fields around., i.e. one mile square but they are mainly dryland wheat, barley and canola. This satellite image is right where these photos were taken today just west of our house. The "round" fields are irrigated with pivots. Some have more "square" corners and they are watered with "corner pivots." There is even a section pivot in this satellite image... they are not common.  |
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Post by BuckSkin on Sept 27, 2022 6:37:36 GMT
Most irrigated fields here are ¼ sections
Years ago, I was in a truck stop in Burlington, Colorado.
In the doorway was one of those free paper vendor racks containing a stack of real estate ad papers; I grabbed one as I walked by and was reading through it while I waited for my supper.
Almost every ad was for x-many "circles"; I had no idea what a circle was.
A guy at the next table looked to be a local and I asked him what was meant by a circle and he explained that a standard pivot irrigator was 1/4-mile long, thus a circle was 1/2-mile square, and they don't count the corners as of much value.
He said the depth of the wells and the condition of the irrigator and well pumps played a lot in how much the land was valued at.
When you get farther up into the Rockies, you start seeing these long irrigators that walk back and forth across the field instead of pivoting.
At about the center of these type irrigators is a big paddle that is the reverser; at each side of the field will be a short stout post; when the paddle contacts that post, it switches gears and reverses direction.
Both styles of irrigator are water-propelled; the water pressure drives the wheels.
I can easily understand how this works on those non-pivot irrigators; but, it is a puzzle to me how they coordinate the amount of forward motion each successive pair of tires gets; common sense tells me that those tires way out there at the end have a lot farther to travel than those close to the center.
Which brings another thought to mind; the tires in close to the pivot would have to last a lot longer than those out there at the end.
Get on over the top and you start seeing these man-made canals alongside the road, with "gates" that will allow the water to be diverted into dead-level fields with little trenches every couple feet that run the length of the fields.
I have been there when they turn the water into the fields and it will fill every one of those little trenches and flow plumb to the other end of the field.
These "gates" are comprised of six-inch planks and you are allowed to remove a certain amount of planks for a given amount of time.
I have no idea how they know when or how many planks are removed, but they take that business serious; I guess an offender would get his neck stretched.
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Post by pontiac1940 on Sept 27, 2022 7:06:12 GMT
Both styles of irrigator are water-propelled; the water pressure drives the wheels. ... how they coordinate the amount of forward motion each successive pair of tires gets; common sense tells me that those tires way out there at the end have a lot farther to travel than those close to the center. Original Valley pivots were water powered...1960-70s. They are all driven with electric motors today. I stand to be corrected, but as far as I know they work by microswitches triggered by angle of "deflection." It is something like this >>> The outer wheel (tower #1) moves first ... it is controlled by speed controller and set to put on [say] 0.8 inches in one revolution. Tower #1 moves ahead (say) 3 feet ahead and puts it out of align with the second tower in. The angle of misalignment closes the motor controller switch on tower #2 etc etc etc. The nozzle spacing or nozzle output varies along the towers from the outer tower (#1) to the center pivot. That way, all parts of the field (inside to outside) get about the same amount of water. Uniform watering is critical on high-value crops like potatoes. Pivots are highly automated and can be turned on and off (or speeded up) via cell phones or laptops in a pick-up or at the farm office or house. Lateral irrigators (pivot-like towers that go back and forth as you said) are not common here but they are around. Many years ago, pivots were operated at high pressure (like 50 psi) but in this windy country evaporative losses were high. Water was shot through impact sprinkler heads way up high. Today, pivots operative at low pressure and most have drop nozzles. See photo.  |
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Post by BuckSkin on Sept 27, 2022 13:59:37 GMT
Pivots are highly automated
Very interesting about how each section knows when to move to keep it's place in line with the rest.
I have always wondered how long it takes one to make a complete circle; I imagine there is no definite answer as some situations might require it to move faster than others.
So long as there is access to plenty of underground water, irrigated land in places where the humidity is low and it never rains is far more dependably productive than trying to farm and count on the weather to water the crops and not drown them out or dry them out.
Here in Kentucky, it has always been an act in futility to try to get in a hay crop that is worth taking up space in the barn.
I quit using local hay about thirty years ago and get all the hay I feed from the Western states; although it is much more expensive up front, it is cheaper in the long run.
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Post by pontiac1940 on Sept 27, 2022 18:16:31 GMT
So long as there is access to plenty of underground water, irrigated land in places where the humidity is low and it never rains is far more dependably productive than trying to farm and count on the weather to water the crops and not drown them out or dry them out. Irrigation water here comes from rivers flowing from the mountains. There are no aquifer or well systems here ... possibly the odd random one but I don't think so. They can run the pivots quite fast and crops like potatoes will routinely get two (or 3) light irrigations per week vs one heavier one. Light applications are (or at least, were) about 3/4 inch. Would have to check, but they can go around in <20 hours I think. |
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