In the past seven days we have had a bit of everything, 10
to 29 degree days, 100km per hour NW winds, rain through to hail and bitterly
cold southerly winds reminding us that spring is upon us!
Whilst forecasters don’t always get the rainfall amounts
correct, they are pretty accurate when it comes to predicting strong
winds. After the wind on Sunday, it only
took two minutes after leaving home to see some damage caused by the strong NW
winds.
With a long dry irrigation season predicted, a broken
irrigator can take a long time to fix leading to reduced yields in crops and
lost dry matter in pastures. This can be avoided by having a simple plan in
place for windy conditions, whether it be securing pivots to a heavy roller or
parking a Rotorainer in a sheltered position on the farm.
Rainfall
Measuring and recording rainfall through the season is also
key, rain gauges are cheap and may help save valuable water, especially in the
shoulder seasons. Turning irrigators off
for a couple of days here and there may not seem like it making a big
difference at the time, but those days all count at the end of the season if
water allocations are getting tight.
Weather forecasts
The forecasters are predicting cold and wet weather on
Tuesday this week, perhaps an opportunity to save a round or two with the pivot
if they are correct.
Happy Irrigating!
Mark Fitzgibbon
Hydroservices
