Kenny Critten said this irrigation system used in the Grand River bottoms south of Landmark Manufacturing is made up of two center pivots. One system will irrigate 350 acres, the other will irrigate 70 acres. He used it to irrigate the full 420 acres this year.
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Center pivot irrigation is a form of overhead sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length.
Mr. Critten said this was the first year using center pivots. Several years ago he used a traveling gun for a while — a wheeled cart with hose reel and sprinkler.
He irrigates every year, not just dry years, and also puts on fertilizer with the water. The water is pulled from the Grand River. The system uses approximately 2,000 gallons per minute.
Mr. Critten said there was a bump in production this year because of the amount of nice rainfall in the area, overall, the system did not increase the bushels per acre as much as he thought it would. However, as in any new experience, there was a learning curve with the irrigation system. On the whole, he intends to continue using it and as the operation is refined, hopes to see a larger increase in the bushels per acre. Pictured is one of the two irrigation systems in a corn field. This year there was more corn under irrigation than beans. [Staff Photo/TLH]