Why circular crop fields

For this reason, efforts are being made to conserve the water of the Ogallala Aquifer. One conservation measure is using water more wisely so less is drawn out of the aquifer. Farmers in this region have adopted a more efficient irrigation method, central pivot irrigation. Central pivot irrigation draws water out of a single well in the center of the field. Long pipes perched on wheels rotate around the pivot, showering the crops with water.

Because the water falls directly on the crops instead of being shot into the air as occurs with traditional sprinklers, less water is lost to evaporation and more goes to nourishing the growing plants. Central pivot irrigation also creates perfectly circular fields, as seen in this image.

The fields shown here are and 1, meters 0. The large image is centered near Image of the Day Land. A project using NASA satellite data helps reduce overwatering and enhances crop yields for Pakistani farmers. For more than years, groups in the western United States have fought over water. During the s, sheep ranchers and cattle ranchers argued over drinking water for their livestock on the high plains.

In , the city of Los Angeles began to draw water away from small agricultural communities in Owen Valley, leaving a dusty dry lake bed.

Even for those who could afford them, it was almost impossible to pump enough water to make a difference on a large scale. The groundwater was deep, sequestered between and among rock, gravel, and clay in a vast underground reservoir now known as the Ogallala Aquifer. Groundwater irrigation from the aquifer received a boost in the s and s, when pumps powered by automobile engines accessed water from greater depths.

Before long, government investment in rural electrification helped farmers power a growing share of the irrigation pumps with electricity; later, low-cost natural gas became the fuel of choice. Irrigators laid pipes across fields of crops, with sprinklers spaced at intervals.

The practice was labor-intensive, requiring a lot of workers to move the pipes for seedbed preparation, for cultivation of row crops, and for harvest. The s also witnessed a protracted drought across much of the country, which brought into question the suitability of the region for agriculture.

In , an innovative Nebraska farmer named Frank Zybach developed a new type of sprinkler system, the center pivot, which he patented in Placing the pump at the center of the field next to a well, irrigation pipes supported by trusses were mounted on wheeled towers that could make a circuit of the field under their own power, leaving that distinctive circle pattern. Gun-style sprinklers sprayed water out from the pipes at set intervals, with smaller nozzles closest to the pivot and the largest nozzles at the end of the line.

Over time, farmers positioned sprinkler nozzles closer to the ground, resulting in less evaporation. During the return of drought conditions in the s, those who had chosen to irrigate had an advantage over those who did not, which convinced many latecomers to get on board. In , historian John Opie observed that industrial irrigation that emerged in the Great Plains was a three-legged stool supported by fertile land, plentiful and low-cost groundwater, and inexpensive fuel.

Center pivot irrigation was a technological triumph—and it also transformed the agricultural geography of the country. With feed crops becoming available in the Great Plains and easily portable via the new interstate highway system, feedlots and meatpacking plants moved to the region.

Large-scale swine production facilities have thousands of animals under one roof. Any one of these farms requires more water for drinking and waste removal than a typical city: A farm of 20, hogs uses far more water than a community of 20, people.

Families and laborers shopped at local retailers and deposited wages in local banks, keeping small towns alive, and irrigators paid the property taxes that sustained local governments. Center pivot irrigation supported local high schools, clubs, churches, and a whole way of life that would have literally dried up if the fields were less productive. History, they could claim, was on their side. In fact, you will find these circular crop fields on the map of those countries who utilize this form of irrigation.

The center pivot irrigation system uses a range of sprinklers that rotate around a point. This causes the irrigated area to emerge as a green circle and that is why circular crop fields are used to indicate such an irrigation system. This type of irrigation system is credited to Boeing system which uses heavy water pumps that are capable of pumping water up to 5 miles in a circular radius.

The circumference of a circle is around 3. In Saudi Arabia, the Center Pivot Irrigation is being used at many projects that are basically upon the land which is arid and Hyper-arid in nature. The non-renewable fossil water, which lies at a depth of 1 km, is mined and pumped to irrigate the fields using the center pivot irrigation system.

Such irrigation system is being used for a variety of fields such as wheat and alfalfa. The water path that is utilized by the project is determined by the engineers.

The engineers determine the river channels that have now been buried by the sand seas. Such irrigational projects are however limited in terms of production as reservoirs in Saudi Arabia have been drained out.