Georgia solar, wind turbine project to bring water to cattle

[jpak]

http://southeastfarmpress.com/news/100407-cattle-water/

Cattle sometimes go to streams and rivers to drink because there is no other place they can get water. But they can pollute that water downstream. A University of Georgia expert is setting up sites near Georgia’s coast to show cattlemen how to use wind and sun to take the water to the cattle.

Using solar panels and wind turbines to produce electrical power is nothing new, said Gary Hawkins, a water specialist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. But using them to power water pumps in Georgia is. They are more common in the Midwest and Western United States.

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Georgia isn’t considered a windy state. But the wind blows consistently along the coast during cooler months when days are shorter. The wind dies off in the summer when the days are longer.

The hybrid system will use wind turbines for power in cooler months and the solar panels in summer. Both sources are enough to provide power to pump as much as 3,000 gallons a day. This is enough water to easily sustain a herd of up to 150 head of cattle.

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[achtung_circus]

1. Even simpler, and independent of wind or sun

is the use of nose pumps. The cattle do the work to provide their own water. Watering from a clean source rather than a stream or pond contaminated by cattle wading into it can improve average daily gain by up to 20%. The studies I've seen were on calves on pasture with their cows (moms).

[robinlynne]

2. I love your piglet avatar.

[achtung_circus]

3. I like pigs. nt