SA mixed farmer pivots to a sustainable future with globally proven mobile irrigation

Mixed farming accounts for about half of all farms in Australia occupying about 50 million hectares of land, mostly in the southern States and in Western Australia.

The combination of cropping and livestock on the one property has gained traction by allowing owners to alternate between crops and pastures according to water, climatic, market, and other changing conditions.

It offers a more resilient and flexible approach for farmers by allowing them to diversify their income streams, improve soil health through the integration of livestock and crops, and ultimately reduce overall dependence on only one type of commodity.

“Farmers generally are innovative and looking for efficiencies. They have a long history of adopting new technologies and practices to improve their production and sustainable farming methods”, says South Australian irrigation specialist, Matt Eland.

“This helps makes them among the most efficient primary producers internationally, with the average Australian farm producing enough food to feed 600 people annually, three-quarters of which is exported,” says Matt, who is from the Mt Gambier Branch of the national Water Dynamics group.

Matt was recently involved in a mixed farming project in SA where a Limestone Coast farmer, Chris, combined his own knowledge of local conditions and irrigation needs with Water Dynamics to specify a T-L centre pivot to suit his requirements.

More than 1000 installations of T-L’s robust and reliable pivots have been completed by Water Dynamics, including in Chris’s case one of the latest towable centre pivots on his sheep and cropping property on the Limestone Coast.

“Busy farmers like Chris – who have their hands full focussing on diverse cropping and pastoral needs on the one property – need reliable irrigation systems backed by good service. Even the best machinery fails if it is not backed up by good timely service and knowledge of local conditions,” says Matt, whose company has distributed and serviced the extensive and evolving range of T-L product for more than 36 years.

The TL pivot specified for Chris’ property features a Towable Four-Wheel Cart and 273m of Poly Coated 6 5/8 galvanised span pipes. This makes towing to a planned second site less time-consuming and easy.

The hydraulically driven TL pivot is a continuous moving machine which eliminates “spoking” issues associated with a stop-start electric pivot. Each circle is 23.4 ha (57.8 acres) and sited to facilitate a straight towing path. Because T-L systems do not rely on 415-480 volt power to run the pivot, this has the additional benefit of not having to call an electrician to repair or being affected by lightning strikes, of which thousands strike SA each year.

TL Centre pivot irrigators offer:

• Precise control of irrigation application
• Low labour requirement
• Low maintenance, high-strength construction. T-L systems feature an extra-tough external flex joint, designed to withstand uneven and rolling terrain.
• Long life (>20 years depending on water quality)
• Allows irrigation of undulating country

“Their combination of features enables TL centre-pivot irrigation systems to efficiently use water and optimise a farm’s yield. This is an important issue nationally, when you consider that agriculture accounts for 74 per cent of Australia’s water use,” says Matt.

Towable design

Towable pivot irrigators such as the four-wheel tower unit installed at the property, can irrigate multiple fields by moving the system between circles, making them a versatile option for farmers with multiple fields to irrigate or accommodate annual crop rotations.

The design of a TL quick tow places the power source, hydraulic pump, and fuel tank on the pivot point, ensuring the system is tow-ready with minimal preparation. T-L’s built-in scissor jacks make wheel rotation easy, meaning the system is ready for towing sooner.

Features of the system designed to optimise reliability include:

• 200mm galvanised steel pivot point and two-port swivel head mounted on the cart
• Stainless steel tower lines and alignment cables
• Full pivot shut down protection
• Compact, powerful and robust planetary gearboxes, towable with quick disconnect hubs.
• Large (14.9 x 24 in) tubeless tyres, improved traction on multiple surfaces, with galvanised rims for longevity
• PVC goosenecks and 20mm poly hose drops
• Sand trap flush valve assembly
• Hydraulic pumping unit, driven by Isuzu 3CE1 diesel engine mounted on cart, along with 580 litre fuel tank

Matt Eland says the custom specifications of Chris’s irrigation system reflects his hands-on experience of a farmer with strong previous experience of irrigation who knew exactly what he wanted from his new investment.

Chris specified a system that was not only best of type – responding to his property’s cropping and water conservation and use principles – but also it had to be as trouble-free as possible and make minimal demands on his time or scarce expensive labour.

He was also strongly focussed on the importance of service – including availability of routine planned maintenance to prevent problems developing in the first place and being able to take out the phone and dial up help when it was needed to meet unscheduled or unpredictable situations.

The importance of service is sometimes a forgotten dimension of an irrigation supply partnership, but Chris put it right up at the top of his list of needs, which is where it should be.

Water Dynamics Contact

Kandy Nguyen
Marketing Coordinator
Water Dynamics (part of the Envirada Group)
T 1300 797 246
E: [email protected]
W: www.waterdynamics.com.au | www.envirada.com