Issue/Background

The Elk conservation reserve at Jackson Hole, Wyoming has been so succesful increasing herd numbers, they needed to grow more winter feed.  The logical way to do this was to utilise the water flowing off the adjacent mountains to irrigate the extensive flats.

The problem was to do it efficiently without putting in the center pivots used on cropping farms. They don't fit with large wild animals, and are not appropriate for the landscape values associated a wildland conservation area.

The logical solution was the New Zealand designed K-Line system, consisting of multiple small sprinklers, each treating a small area at a time, and requiring daily shifts. But with 4500 identical acres and 5 shifting staff trying to shift 400 pod lines an identical distance each day, there was potential for major mistakes and waste of water.

Solution

The entire system had a shifting plan designed by TracMap staff in NZ, targeting at achieving a pattern that would see each area of the block watered evenly and consistantly.

This was plan was color coded, and loaded into the TracMap TM465s mounted on each of the Kawasaki Mules being used to shift the pod lines.

Outcome

As expected, the TracMap system ensured that the watering went to plan, and the $5M irrigation investment delivered the pasture growth expected.