"Sprinkler Pads" Make Pasture Irrigation Easy
Having a simple and easy way to irrigate pasture is important to John Yardley. At 76 years of age, he wants to do as little labor as possible to maintain his 55 acres of pasture that supports 40 head of cattle and 80 head of sheep. The sprinklers let him pasture year round, producing grass-fed beef and lamb that he sells for a premium.
“I call my type of place a Poor Widow’s Ranch,” he says. “Even a poor widow could handle the work.”
Moving a line of irrigation sprinklers in a pasture is easy if you do it Yardley’s way. He has his pasture broken up into different size circles centered on a buried line of irrigation pipe. Black poly pipe with sprinklers at regular intervals water the pasture in each circle year round. Moving the sprinklers is as easy as riding his ATV.
“Each area in the pasture is set up like a clock face with the riser in the center,” says Yardley. “If a line of sprinklers runs from the center to the 1 on the clock face, when it’s time to move it, I unhook it from the riser and hook it up to my ATV. I then pull it to the 7 on the clock face and drive back to the riser to hook the other end of the line up to start watering.”
When the line is pulled to the outside of the circle, Yardley attaches a female coupler with a sprinkler head to the new outside end and removes one from what is now the center connection. When it’s time to move the sprinklers again, he reverses the process and pulls it the other way, out to the next number on the clock face. Over the course of a week, he irrigates the entire circle, running the system only as long as is needed each day.
The key to the ease of the system is the pads made from pvc pipe beneath each sprinkler and male cam lock couplers at either end of each line of pipe. They hook to the female cam lock couplers at the center risers.
“I use pvc pipe elbows and fittings to make the skid pads,” says Yardley. “Anybody who can work a jigsaw can design his own. Just make them water tight and use a drop of glue to hold them together.”
Each pad consists of a pair of 1 1/2-in. pvc cross fittings with a sprinkler mounted between them and 1-in. runners to either side. The runners are capped at both ends and fit tight into the sides of the cross fittings, creating a watertight connection.
“Keeping the skid runners water tight keeps the weight in the center of the skid when the line moves,” explains Yardley. “A drop of pvc 705 glue keeps all the joints tight.”
Yardley prefers black poly pipe to the aluminum pipe he used in the past. He finds it’s almost indestructible, whether it’s driven over or cows step on it. The pvc pipe is the only thing that requires upkeep; however, it’s better than commercial sprinkler skids he has tried in the past.
Yardley has used the system for nearly 6 years. He has 11 lines for his irregular shaped pasture. The longest line is 350 ft. with 7 sprinklers set at 50-ft. intervals. The three longest lines use 1 1/4-in. poly pipe, while shorter ones get by with 1-in. pipe. He is confident he could go to as many as 9 sprinkler heads on a line, but that would likely be the maximum.
The sprinkler system has helped make it possible for Yardley to continue his livestock operation.
“People ask when I’ll retire, and I say when I can’t get on my four-wheeler and go anymore,” he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Yardley, P.O. Box 220257, Centerfield, Utah 84622 (ph 435 528-3486; unirok65@hotmail.com).
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Sprinkler Pads Make Pasture Irrigation Easy IRRIGATION Acessories Having a simple and easy way to irrigate pasture is important to John Yardley At 76 years of age he wants to do as little labor as possible to maintain his 55 acres of pasture that supports 40 head of cattle and 80 head of sheep The sprinklers let him pasture year round producing grass-fed beef and lamb that he sells for a premium “I call my type of place a Poor Widow’s Ranch ” he says “Even a poor widow could handle the work ” Moving a line of irrigation sprinklers in a pasture is easy if you do it Yardley’s way He has his pasture broken up into different size circles centered on a buried line of irrigation pipe Black poly pipe with sprinklers at regular intervals water the pasture in each circle year round Moving the sprinklers is as easy as riding his ATV “Each area in the pasture is set up like a clock face with the riser in the center ” says Yardley “If a line of sprinklers runs from the center to the 1 on the clock face when it’s time to move it I unhook it from the riser and hook it up to my ATV I then pull it to the 7 on the clock face and drive back to the riser to hook the other end of the line up to start watering ” When the line is pulled to the outside of the circle Yardley attaches a female coupler with a sprinkler head to the new outside end and removes one from what is now the center connection When it’s time to move the sprinklers again he reverses the process and pulls it the other way out to the next number on the clock face Over the course of a week he irrigates the entire circle running the system only as long as is needed each day The key to the ease of the system is the pads made from pvc pipe beneath each sprinkler and male cam lock couplers at either end of each line of pipe They hook to the female cam lock couplers at the center risers “I use pvc pipe elbows and fittings to make the skid pads ” says Yardley “Anybody who can work a jigsaw can design his own Just make them water tight and use a drop of glue to hold them together ” Each pad consists of a pair of 1 1/2-in pvc cross fittings with a sprinkler mounted between them and 1-in runners to either side The runners are capped at both ends and fit tight into the sides of the cross fittings creating a watertight connection “Keeping the skid runners water tight keeps the weight in the center of the skid when the line moves ” explains Yardley “A drop of pvc 705 glue keeps all the joints tight ” Yardley prefers black poly pipe to the aluminum pipe he used in the past He finds it’s almost indestructible whether it’s driven over or cows step on it The pvc pipe is the only thing that requires upkeep; however it’s better than commercial sprinkler skids he has tried in the past Yardley has used the system for nearly 6 years He has 11 lines for his irregular shaped pasture The longest line is 350 ft with 7 sprinklers set at 50-ft intervals The three longest lines use 1 1/4-in poly pipe while shorter ones get by with 1-in pipe He is confident he could go to as many as 9 sprinkler heads on a line but that would likely be the maximum The sprinkler system has helped make it possible for Yardley to continue his livestock operation “People ask when I’ll retire and I say when I can’t get on my four-wheeler and go anymore ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Yardley P O Box 220257 Centerfield Utah 84622 ph 435 528-3486; unirok65@hotmail com
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