“[Keeping It Green] belongs on the grass farmers’ bookshelf. It’s succinct, practical, and dedicated precisely to irrigation. We can all be thankful Jim put his years of personal and consulting experience down on paper.”—Joel Salatin, cofounder of Polyface Farm; author, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal
Whether you live in a high rainfall area or the arid West, irrigation can even your production and boost profits, with the proper management. Keeping It Green explains how to implement irrigation or work with an existing system.
It begins with an understanding of soil-water-plant relationships that make grass grow, then determining water demand. With 17 years of experience managing both flood and sprinkler systems in an 8″ annual precipitation environment, Gerrish explains the pros and cons of each. Chapters include the following:
• Flood irrigation
• Solid set, hand lines, wheel line systems
• Working with line-pods
• Center pivot designs
• Surface drip systems
• Fertigation and effluents for soil nutrient management
• The economics of irrigated pasture
• And more.
Using diagrams and illustrations, Gerrish details cell designs and grazing with irrigation. He covers operating expenses for water and labor to help determine cost per acre and the value of irrigation. Depending on the class of livestock, he offers suggestions for the best system to fit producers’ needs.
Keeping it Green was written for both the beginning irrigator as well as those who have spent their farming or ranching lifetime in an irrigated environment.
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