For Delaware farms, a water ‘win-win’
Driving through southern Delaware farmland, have you ever wondered about those strange looking mechanical devices on wheels that populate many fields?
The reason for all that apparatus is tied to some basic botany.
It is, for example, a basic scientific fact that all plants need water to grow.
And it is a basic fact of Delaware agriculture that, like the greenery in your yard, crops will grow even faster if doused with more water than nature usually provides. It is particularly true in Sussex County, where sandy soil does not retain moisture.
Those watering benefits extend to an array of crops, from vegetables grown for human consumption to grains like corn and soybeans that are destined for animal feed.
But rainfall, after all, does not come in precise cycles and there are times during the growing season that conditions are too soggy — or extremely dry and parched.
To give those crops that extra boost during dry times, many Delaware farmers have adopted some form of mechanical irrigation to supplement natural precipitation.
And that is precisely why farm field after farm field contains those giant spider-like contraptions on wheels.
Systems through the years
The most common system in southern Delaware is called center-pivot irrigation, an automated device that is used to supply water for crops whenever natural rainfall is not adequate.
“I look at irrigation systems as an insurance policy in case of low rainfall,” said Brent Mecham of the Irrigation Association in Washington, D.C.
Delaware Agriculture Secretary Ed Kee sees something else.
“Irrigation is one of the most important factors contributing to the prosperity of Delaware agriculture,” he said.
Though primitive forms of irrigation were first used in arid regions of the world centuries ago, widespread use in the United States did not begin in earnest until after World War II.
Interestingly, American tire magnate Harvey Firestone had invented a prototype irrigation system in the 1930s but never put it into production.
Many experts say the turning point in the United States was when Alcoa developed aluminum for wartime use then applied it to non-military applications after the war ended in 1945.
One of the early Alcoa post-war adaptations was lightweight aluminum pipe for farm irrigation systems.
“That’s when irrigation really started to take off,” said Kurt Mahoney, chairman of the Irrigation Association’s history committee.
In the beginning, a pump, often propelled by an internal combustion engine, commonly drew water from a pond or steam. It was then pumped through aluminum pipes and nozzles to the crop that needed watering.
Initially, irrigation was primarily used on vegetables and fruit orchards then, later, farmers began using it on grain crops, including corn, soybeans, barley and wheat.
But the early systems required constant attention, as Kee can attest.
Every eight to 12 hours, the pump would have to be shut down so the pipes could be physically moved to another dry area in the field or orchard.
As a teenager in Sussex County, Kee vividly remembers working on a farm in Nassau where one of his responsibilities was to move pipe piece-by-piece to another section of the corn field so a dry area could be watered.
“It was pretty labor intensive,” said Mecham.
Big cost, bigger return
To eliminate the need to keep moving pipe, a new, integrated system was developed. It featured connected sections of pipe and nozzles some eight to 10 feet above ground with each section equipped with wheels for easy rolling.
The coupled sections rotated from a central pivot point and commonly extended hundreds of feet from the center. To reduce the need for human intervention, wells were dug at the pivot point to supply a convenient source of water.
The system also was designed to rotate automatically to make sure the entire area got watered. In the beginning, water pressure was used to propel the mechanism.
“They are designed to move in a circle,” said Mecham.
And farmers can adjust the rate of movement, depending on the watering needs for that field.
Now, nearly all center pivot systems are propelled by electric motors, which means that each installation requires a water and power source.
Though the cost for each unit can reach $150,000, “the return on investment is pretty quick,” said Mecham.
Indeed, statistics show that production for all crops in southern Delaware jumps dramatically when irrigated, with the yield of some commodities like corn nearly doubled.
And that is particularly critical, given the growth of Delaware’s poultry industry and its dependence on corn for feed.
“Irrigation certainly has improved yield and profitability,” said Kee.
That potential increase in a farmers’ income becomes evident when irrigation doubles the yields for crops like corn. In a recent year, the average price per bushel of feed corn was nearly $4 and the average yield in Delaware was 192 bushels per acre.
With Sussex County’s sandy soil — prone to drying quickly — irrigation also helps produce more crops even with minimal rainfall.
“Crops need irrigation more when you have sandy soil like there is in Sussex County,” Kee said.
Fortunately, Sussex County’s aquifers are robust enough to supply water for irrigation.
“Without these aquifers, agriculture in Delaware would be completely different,” said Kee.
A “win-win” for farmers
Jay Baxter, fourth generation farmer in Georgetown, raises corn, soybeans, barley, sweet corn, lima beans and edamame on 2,800 acres. The farm has a total of 34 separate irrigation systems to water crops in different sections of the farm.
“Irrigation has been a part of this farm as long as I can remember,” says Baxter, a University of Delaware graduate. “And, in my tenure, I have also seen a significant increase in yields, and irrigation has been the key.”
Though most of their irrigation water comes from wells, the Baxter farm also uses treated wastewater from the Georgetown sewage treatment plant on certain crops.
“It is a win-win,” he said. “They need to get rid of wastewater and it saves me having to pump water out of the ground.”
To provide technical assistance to farmers statewide, the University of Delaware operates an irrigation research farm in Harbeson, which is between Lewes and Georgetown.
The 90-acre research center features a 760-foot-long center pivot irrigation system that is large enough to water 50 acres of crops, which include vegetables and grains. The computerized irrigation system is controlled by a panel in a small metal building at the edge of the research center.
The farm also has a subsurface drip irrigation system that remains stationary and it is heavily populated with subsurface soil moisture sensors to monitor the effectiveness of the various irrigation systems.
Scientist and engineer James Adkins oversees the research operation, which is used to develop and improve irrigation technology while experimenting with new methods to measure soil moisture at various depths.
“The idea is get the maximum amount of yield with a minimum amount of water,” he said.
The research center also is exploring the use of satellite technology and drones as a way to accurately measure soil moisture from above. And farmers already have access to a statewide soil data network to help them make decisions on the need to irrigate.
“Having the university nearby is invaluable because they can experiment and we can learn from it,” Baxter said.
But, like other segments of society, technology already has had an impact on Delaware farms.
Baxter, for example, can control the speed, direction and water pumping rates for all 34 of the farm’s irrigation systems by using his smart phone.
“We are definitely embracing new technology,” he said.
So, from modest beginnings, over 150,000 acres of Delaware farm land is now being irrigated to supply grain to for the poultry industry and fruits and vegetables for consumers.
“Anything that improves our farm efficiency is a benefit to all of us,” said Kee.