Irrigation

[bucket]

If the article is correct at 110,000 acres to be developed, here is some fast facts.

110,000 acres/160 acres = 687 pivots

average pivot uses 750 gallons per minutes (gpm)

687 x 750gpm x 60 x 24 = 742,000,000 gallons per day.

When I worked at ipsco, they used 1,000,000 gallons of water per day.

The potash mine at belle plaine probably uses 2-3 million gallons per day (not sure)

Now, who do you think should pay for the project?

[bucket]

If you see an increase in yield on these acres. This won't be heavy clay being irrigated more likely 30 bpa land on an average year.

So lets say you go to 60 bpa or a 30 bpa increase on 110,000 acres.

110,000 x 30bpa(increase only) = 3,300,000 extra bushels.

Lets say it was all canola.

3,300,000 bushels x 13bucks a bushel = $42,000,000.00 extra revenue gross.

So thats 42 million dollars on a 450 million dollar investment but add in the pivot development cost on 110,000 acres and the operating costs, there is zero return to the investor, who is the government, who is the taxpayer!!


Sure go in and supply water to the two cities and the industries down stream but irrigation will not make economic sense anytime soon.

Take the 450 million dollars and spend it on dryland farming, it would be a better production and economic investment.