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Vandenbussche Open House

Lots to see at annual irrigation open house

March 31, 2008  By Marg Land


Mid-June marked Vanden Bussche Irrigation’s annual Demonstrat-ion Days and Open House.

farm
The Vandenbussche Irrigation Learning Centre

Mid-June marked Vanden Bussche Irrigation’s annual Demonstrat-ion Days and Open House.

Dozens of farmers from throughout southern Ontario attended the three-day event, held at the irrigation company’s irrigation learning centre, located just east of Simcoe, Ontario.

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The open house featured displays of various irrigation layout designs and equipment, a barbecue and refreshments plus a self-guided tour of 14 different demonstration plots scattered around the 115-acre farm.

irrigation
Irrigation demonstrations were exhibited throughout the 115 acre facility.
farmer
Growers had an opportunity to learn about and view the latest irrigation innovations.

Some of the tour highlights included:
• A demonstration of the Bauer RainBoy and AutoRain Travellers, which are both turbine-driven and work efficiently with low water pressure;
• A working surface installation of Netafim Typhoon thinwall dripperlines, which was set up for a 1.4 acre ginseng garden comprised of 64 beds;
• A demonstration of the Greenfield Mini-Centre Pivot, equipped with Nelson sprayheads, which can irrigate up to seven acres per rotation;
• K-Line Fast Move Sprinklers, an economic and convenient way to      irrigate pastures and paddocks as you can shift the sprinklers while they’re in operation;
• A working shallow sub-surface installation of Netafim streamline     dripperline, 8 mil, on 6.2 acres of sweet corn plus 1 mil clear embossed
• Climagro plastic mulch, 53-inches wide;
• A demonstration of the Bauer Centreliner 4000 which can move both laterally down a field (48 acres) or be used as a pivot (eight acres);

fieldTour highlights included:
• Examples of several pump and filter stations for use with drip
irrigation travelers, sprinklers and pivots;
• A working demonstration of Nelson R2000 Windfighter sprinklers on five acres of sweet corn. These sprinklers can eliminate riser
vibration and splashdown while providing high uniformity with low     application rates;
• A working demonstration of a Bauer AS-50 Boom paired with an
E21 Traveller, which can irrigate 14.4 acres per pull;
• An evaluation trial featuring an 8 mile Sunstone thinwall dripperline from China;
• A working demonstration of Rain Bird Falcons, economical sprinkler systems, which can shoot a radius of 41 to 65 feet.


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