Investing in upgrading a centre pivot in Bega NSW – Dairy

This case study is based on a site near Bega where a 25ha area of kikuyu/annual ryegrass pasture for dairy production was irrigated with a centre pivot. An audit of the pivot found that there was potential to improve distribution uniformity and irrigation efficiency with the incorporation of a larger mainline and a new sprinkler pack for the centre pivot.

Investing in the mainline upgrade and sprinkler pack is predicted to be a very attractive option for this site if an additional 2 t DM/ha of pasture is consumed across the 25ha pivot. However, it appears that an increase in pasture consumption of this magnitude would be optimistic. If the capital expenditure was just on the sprinkler pack, an additional 0.17 t DM/ha of pasture consumed would make this an attractive investment