Irrigation

The unusually warm weather seems to have gotten me in the mood to talk about the irrigation methods used on the farm. We have 3 different methods we use for getting water to plants at all stages of growth. The plants start small in one of 4 greenhouses which are irrigated out of a well. They are pumped through a series of pipes that are connected to emitters which, depending on the greenhouse, either deliver a mist or a rain like pattern. This system is connected to a fertilizer injector called a "Dosatron" which can deliver liquid fertilizer or other chemicals through the greenhouses.

Once the plants make it to the field, they are then watered using a technique called drip irrigation. This consists of about 5 miles of soft plastic tubing with slits that emit an exact dosage of water. These small black lines are buried underground to prevent water loss from evaporation. This is then all connected through a series of "lay-flat" hoses which run down to a small pond. It is the pumped out at around 150 gpm through dual sand filters, before reaching the plants.

Watering the apple trees for me is the coolest process. We use a very large machine called a traveler. A traveler is a reel with about 1500 feet of hard plastic hose wound around it; on the end of the hose there is a gun cart. The gun cart houses a large sprinkler which can handle huge volumes of water, throwing it in a circle with a 150 foot radius. This piece of equipment requires  6" diameter pipe to provide it the volume of water it needs.  The water for this machine is fed out of a large creek on the farm. It is sucked out at about 400 gallons per minute with a 115 horsepower turbocharged John Deere power unit attached to a Cornell pump. When it leaves the pump it is at almost 200 psi. A pump this size at 0 psi can handle 1200 gpm easily. This pump is primed using an engine in a truck, a hose is attached to the engine which creates a vacuum, sucking water into the pumping unit. As the water runs through the traveler, it turns a turbine which provides power to a gearbox, which slowly reels in the gun cart.

A traveller

Final Tier 4/Stage IV

Last March John Deere announced that they had created a new Tier 4/Stage IV engine to comply with EPA regulations. First of all, what is a Tier 4 engine? Basically it is an engine that is above 75 horsepower.  The new EPA codes dictate an 80% reduction in nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxides are very harmful to the environment and destroy the ozone layer. Selective catalytic converters will be used to help control emissions. A diesel exhaust fluid injector will be required to meet the EPA's rules.Agriculture should not notice any difference in the engine except that is it much safer for the environment.

Check out the video: John Deere Tier 4

Rain

Due to all the rain we have been having here in gorgeous eastern North Carolina, the planting season has been put off because of the inability of equipment to get in to the field. Usually you don't hear farmers in North Carolina complaining about too much rain,but here goes. With a small part of our farm planted in flowers, the inability to plant, a delay of two weeks, is a big deal. It can cost entire crops when they are unable to go from the greenhouse to the field. It has been so wet that it has been a problem getting tractors stuck with no machinery attached to them. Here's hoping for warmer, dryer weather next week.

Introduction

My name is Anderson O’Brien, and I am 15 years old. I am a sophomore in high school.


As a person who has grown up and lived on a working farm his entire life, I believe that an agricultural engineering career is perfectly suited for me. Ever since I was little, I have been progressively more involved in the agricultural things around the farm. I have always had an interest in designing different types of agricultural systems, and now that I have gotten older, I have had the opportunity to try them out on our own farm.

I have always loved being involved with agriculture, but working on a farm is not for me. It is great to have a chance to use my talents in a way that is beneficial to the agricultural community. I like to think creatively, I believe that I have an analytical mind, and I am very detail oriented. I communicate well with other people especially on things appertaining to agricultural matters.