Welcome to the Ranch!

We all know how important fresh drinking water is.  It is equally important to cows.  Cattle can smell water from miles away.  Typically they drink twice a day.  Each time a cow generally guzzles 12 gallons of water in one sitting.  We had one pasture on the ranch that had no supply of water.  Therefore when the cows were on this particular pasture, we had to open up a neighboring pasture for their water needs.

New water trough

As this was not an ideal situation, we carefully weighed our options.  One option was to dig a tank and wait for it to fill with rain water and run-off.  Since we are in a drought, this option was not suitable.  We did not want water next year; we needed it now.  Another option was to have a water well dug.  This option is the most expensive.  Having a water well installed costs about $6,000.00 depending on how far they have to dig to hit a good water table.  In addition you have to have electricity run to the pump.  All in all this was too expensive.  The last option was to lay water line from the nearby lake and install a pump to fill a water trough on the dry pasture.  Okay, sounds great, but how does one do that?

Well, you have to think like my husband, Lane, who is the ranch manager for Cross Creek Cattle Company.  He came up with the idea and thought all the steps through before purchasing the supplies.  If you have a similar problem on your ranch, you might want to really pay attention.

First he rented a trencher and used it to dig the water line from the lake to the desired spot for the water trough.  Unfortunately for Lane, the ground was like cement and even the trencher was put to the test digging through the hardened ground.  Then he decided where the pumping station was to be and laid the pipe from it in opposite directions.  One side going to the lake and the other to the trough.

The pumping station complete with solar battery charger.

Then Lane installed the pumping end into the lake.  First, he fitted a screen on the end of the pipe so that minnows, tadpoles, debris, etc. would be sucked up into the pump.  Then he extended the pipe about 15-20′ off of the shore and down deep onto the bottom.  He did not want anyone fishing, rowing, etc. breaking the tip of the pipe.  In addition he put a cinder block around the pipe end to help protect it even more.

Now he installed the round water trough in the most level place he could find.  Lane hooked up a faucet end that he will reinforce with bigger pipe and fill between the two pipes with sand.  This not only gives the pipe more strength, but the sand also acts as insulation when the temperature drops below freezing in the winter.

Lane then hooked the pump up to the battery, which is charged by solar energy.  He turned it on and looked for any leaks that might appear from the joints of the pipes.  Fortunately, there was none.  He filled in the trenches with dirt and packed them down with the tractor.  Meanwhile the pump is steadily sucking water out of the lake and filling the trough uphill and about 200′ away.

It did take some time for the water pump to build enough pressure to actually begin pumping the water.  But once it began, the water streamed through the pipes flawlessly.  Now the cattle will have plenty of fresh water on an otherwise dry pasture.  Ingenuity at its best right here on the ranch.  The supplies for this option cost relatively little.  The pump was $65.00.  The solar charger was $40.00.  The pipe and fittings were about $45.00.  The trough was $299.00.

Not only was this option the most inexpensive; it was the most practical option as well.  Lane did a great job.  I have to tell you, I was impressed with his ability.  I guess that it is a good thing when your husband never ceases to amaze you.