Utilizing Side Rolls

#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk

This past week I have learned more about irrigation. We have been moving the side rolls up and down the pastures trying to make sure all of the grass gets water. I have learned how to connect the pipes to the risers on the side roll so that the riser can be turned on and water will flow through it. We have a river screen that sits in the pipes and helps to clean some of the gunk out of the ditch water before it enters the side roll. I learned how to take out the river screen and clean it so it works efficiently. I have also learned how to turn on and off the caps at the end of the side roll. We do this in order to open it and let water and pressure out or to close it and keep water in the side roll and coming out of the sprinkler heads. We have also spent a lot of time straightening the side roll out so it does not have kinks in it and unplugging the heads of the sprinklers so that they spray out water and turn properly.

I also learned about a different type of flood irrigation where water is running through a large pipe and you can open these slots that are on the side of the pipe in order to let water flow out in certain places. We have been moving the cows into different pastures so I was able to practice herding cattle and working with the horses. We also brought the herd of cows into the corral and separated out the sick cows and calves and treated them. We did this by running the cattle through a squeeze shoot and giving them medicine and then putting a tag on their back so we knew that they got doctored.

One concept I would challenge is the use of side rolls for irrigation. There are a lot of moving parts to a side roll and there seems to be a lot of work involved with moving, straightening, cleaning, and unplugging things in order to get it working properly. The side roll also waters the grass on the surface which I believe is not quite as effective as using flood irrigation. When you flood irrigate it soaks the soil and it seems to maintain water better. The flood irrigated pastures seem to be growing thicker than the pastures that we are using a side roll on.

I have questions about different types of irrigation methods and which are the easiest to run and maintain while also providing the best water for the pastures. I am wondering what other types of irrigation there are that I have not learned about. I was also wondering which irrigation method is better for the grass and the soil in the long run. I have questions about the different types of medicine you can use on sick cattle depending on the situation. We had some cattle that were limping, some had pink eye, some were going blind, and some were just skinny and sick. I am curious about different kinds of treatments you can use for these situations and which are the most effective.

If I decide to keep doing ranch and farm work in the future it will be important to know about different types of irrigation. I will be able to do multiple kinds of irrigation work and have an idea on how to run things. If I have animals or a ranch of my own someday I will have more knowledge on how to irrigate my pastures and provide grass for my animals. It would also be beneficial for me to know how to work with horses to herd cattle and when to switch their pastures. I plan to use the knowledge I gained treating the cattle if I go to veterinary school. I will have prior knowledge on different types of medications for certain situations involving sick or injured cattle.

Submitted by: Leiana Andrade Stout
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team