SA pastoralist extends land management practices with advanced stock feed irrigation

Cortina Pastoral is further boosting the productivity and ROI on its 1200ha Greenways Limestone Coast property by installing an irrigation project with multiple present-day and future benefits.

Cortina Pastoral’s principal, Richard Gould, enlisted the expertise of Water Dynamics in Mount Gambier to efficiently set up two low-maintenance, hydraulically operated six-span centre pivot irrigation systems. These systems were sourced by Water Dynamics in Mount Gambier and installed successfully to cultivate lucerne for stock feed on their predominantly beef and sheep property.

The two identical T-L pivots and diesel pump sets using American-made Vertiline pump and column pipe – each covering 32ha – have just enabled a 2023 summer crop to be grown and provide a resource that, on an ongoing basis, will enable the property to optimise land and stock management to take advantage of favourable market conditions.

“Increasing land values have caused forward thinking farmers such as Richard Gould to look at opportunities to do more with their well-run properties to optimise returns in the good times and to provide more control of the future in other times,” says Water Dynamics Mt Gambier’s Matthew Eland.

The benefits of cost and water efficient irrigation schemes are both immediate and longer-term, in terms of animal and resource management – and this is something that could become even more important in some areas as Australia’s BOM suggests we may be moving from La Nina to El Nino weather patterns.

The new pivot project uses T-L planetary hydraulic drive systems of a type extensively proven in broad-acre farming in their native US and in more than 1000 T-L brand systems installed by Water Dynamics in Australia over more than 40 years.

T-L hydraulically actuated control installations, such as this one at Greenways, provide simplicity and hydraulic technology familiar to farmers.

“The beauty of hydraulic systems – as opposed to electrical systems – is that they employ hydraulic technology that is already very familiar to farmers. Hydraulics are in all their fixed and mobile plant. So they don’t usually have to call out a specialist electrician or other tradesman each time something needs maintenance, which can be a money-saver. Water Dynamics service technicians know these systems inside-out, and can be on-site and have the equipment back working very quickly in the unlikely event there is a breakdown,” said Matt.

The system installed at Greenways includes:

• Two new bores in an area with a limited drilling/bore history
• Two new diesel turbine pump sets designed to achieve 44 L/S at 42 M/Head
  • 4 cyl John Deere 4045D
  • Amarillo S40AB gearbox on a Vertiline 6” discharge head
  • Vertiline 8” 2-stage turbine pump set on 24M of 6” column
• Two concrete pump pads and 2 concrete pivot pads
• Two Zincalume pump sheds
• Two 6000L fuel tanks
• Two T-L hydraulic fixed 6 span Pivots with Precision Point Control and planetary gearboxes.

Water Dynamics’ T-L systems maintain alignment through the use of a simple hydraulic spool valve. The alignment system moves the spool valve, metering the required hydraulic fluid flow for each tower, maintaining continuous movement and alignment with the end tower. This simple hydrostatic control is engineered to be vastly superior to stop-start electric microswitch designs.

Hydrostatically powered T-L systems are designed to deliver continuous movement, says Matt. Gearbox wear is drastically reduced due to the absence of electrically driven system’s stop-start operation.

In addition, water and fertilisers are evenly distributed over the crop. T-L systems deliver the best, most consistent water pattern available.

Another plus of the system chosen for Greenways is that it is inherently safe to use and maintain. Because our T-L irrigation systems are driven hydraulically, they eliminate the need for high-voltage power.

The most that will be utilised in T-L systems is 24 volts to power some of the control system options. Because we do not rely on 415-480 volts of electricity to power our drive systems, this has the additional benefit of not being affected by lightning strikes, of which tens of thousands strike SA each year.

Contact Water Dynamics today (https://waterdynamics.com.au/about/contact-us/) to discuss your advanced stock feed irrigation requirements and how our products and services can assist you in optimising your water management system for a sustainable future.

Water Dynamics
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