Water is critical on any farm, and drilling several wells on the property to feed your irrigation systems can be an excellent way to ensure you keep the crop healthy. Selecting the location and depth of the well should be discussed with the water well drilling services that you are using.
Well Location
When looking for a place to put a well on your property, it can be tempting to drill in a location close to the field and hope for the best. It is far better to survey the area, locate the potential aquifers or underground structures that will produce water, and drill the well using this information.
The well drilling services you are working with can use USGS (United States Geological Survey) data and maps to find underground water, they can scan the ground with ground-penetrating radar, and most experienced well drillers can look over the property and tell you where to find water. Using the sources of information available will increase the probability of getting a good flow of water from the well.
In areas with a large amount of water under the surface, the well may produce more water than you need. Determining the amount of water you need for your irrigation system will help determine if one well is enough or if you will need several to provide enough water.
Well Regulations
Well drilling around agricultural fields may come with some rules in your state, so it is critical to check with the local municipality to find out what those rules are. Because some farms use chemical fertilizers and pest control products on the soil, the well may need to be far enough away to ensure none of the chemicals can leach into the well.
Even if the water in the well is limited to fields, any chemicals that leach into the water will contaminate the aquifer. The well drilling services you are working with should understand these rules already, but the property owner is ultimately responsible, so double check to be sure you are following the guidelines.
Once you are sure that you comply with the location of the well, the well drilling can begin. The process is similar to residential well drilling, but an agricultural well may be deeper and use a larger pump to bring more water up from below ground. In some situations, the well may need to be four or five hundred feet deep to provide enough water for your needs and continually produce water during the drier parts of the year.
For more information about well drilling, contact a well drilling company in your area.
No matter how the economy is performing or what is going on in the world, farmers need to wake up every morning and take care of their farms. They feed animals, milk cows, care for young stock, work fields, and so much more. The agriculture industry is vast, but it is filled with hardworking people who do the best they can to provide us with food and other products. Those within the industry deserve recognition and understanding. It is our hope that you'll read the articles on this website, and in the process, learn more about agriculture. The more you learn, the greater your appreciation will be.