Squeeze more water from every unit of energy

By Doug Rich

Over the next 20 years energy costs are estimated to grow by 70 percent and crop production will need to double to meet global demand for food. Energy-efficient irrigated crop production will be a necessity.

The correlation between energy and water is significant. But the easiest way to visualize that correlation is to imagine carrying 5-gallon buckets of water up a hill to irrigate a crop. Carrying fewer buckets requires less energy.

Efficiency

"Producers need to determine what is the minimal amount of water needed to meet the demand of that plant and then determine what is the most efficient way to deliver that water," said Andy Smith, national accounts manager for Reinke. "First and foremost you have to choose a technique or delivery method that is in fact the most efficient."

Smith said the cardinal rule of irrigation efficiency is to make sure the system is applying water in a uniform manner. People tend to irrigate to the weakest portion of the field. If there is a bad spot in the field producers will compensate by over irrigating the rest of the field until that particular portion of the field's needs are met.

"It is not difficult for us to send a pivot system out the door that will have a true efficiency of 96 to 98 percent," Smith said.

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