Fort Thomas farm goes high-tech

By Jon Johnson, Assistant Editor
Published on Monday, April 9, 2007 10:27 AM MST

Throughout Arizona and the Gila Valley, open-faced canals deliver life-giving water to farms at only 70- to 75-percent efficiency.

A Fort Thomas farmer decided to try a delivery system that promises to use less water with less labor while helping to prevent soil erosion as well.

Rick Motes grew up the son of a farmer and has worked in the fields his whole life. Now that he has his own 40-acre farm, he decided to find a way to better irrigate his crops.

A subsurface irrigation technician for Arizona Drip Systems guides the irrigation tape into its correct place. Photo by Jon Johnson

“I started to figure out ways to conserve water because of the drought,” he said.

Motes sought help from the United States Dairy Association/National Resources Conservation Service, and one of its representatives, Eddie Foster, visited Motes’ farm, coordinated a resource assessment of his land and suggested he put in drip-system irrigation.

The NRCS agreed to finance 90 percent of the cost for the project through its Environmental Quality Program. The program is designed to assist with water conservation and reduce soil erosion.

Motes and Foster turned to Arizona Drip Systems of Coolidge to install the subsurface drip system.

Howard Wuertz, its chairman of the board, has experimented with drip systems since 1976 and has raised eyebrows from farmers in drought-stricken areas with his promise of low-water use, high yields and minimal labor. Wuertz said his first chance to demonstrate what a subsurface drip system could do was when he installed one for Sundance Farms, a 3,200-acre farm in Pinal County, in the mid-1980s.

He said a subsurface drip system has many advantages over other types of irrigation.

“We water underground with pressure and only add water that the plants need,” he said. “A lot of water that’s offered to the field in furrow or flood irrigation goes way beyond the root zone. We put the water where the plant’s roots are.”

Wuertz has four patents on machinery for burying and pulling out subsurface drip lines. His company uses polyethylene tape with zigzag emitters to direct the water where they want it to go. Arizona Drip Systems injects the tape about 1 foot into the soil with the emitter facing up. The water is then pressurized in the tape at 10 to 12 pounds per square inch (most household water line pressure is 50 to 90 psi) and leaves through the emitters at around 1 psi. Foster said the drip system uses one-third to one-half the water than furrow irrigation uses and is a 95-percent efficient system. That means if a farmer pumps 100 gallons of water, 95 gallons are being used by the plants. According to Foster, most flood or furrow irrigation can claim only 70- to 75-percent efficiency.

Motes sees his new drip system not only as a way to conserve water and help stop soil erosion, but also as an easier method to manage his farm.

“The whole thing is computerized,” he said. “I just type in how much water per acre, how much fertilizer and away it goes.”

The NRCS hopes Motes will serve as an example to other farmers in the area and that the success of his farm will encourage others to consider the benefits of subsurface irrigation.

Motes’ farm is split into four separate areas that have different water needs. He can program the water for each area and can even make it an automatic program and have the system run by itself.

While the initial startup cost is between $1,200 to $1,500 per acre, Wuertz said the system generally pays for itself within three years through increased crop yield and tillage and water savings.

“We’ve installed about 25,000 acres in Arizona alone,” Wuertz said. “We have also installed drip systems in California, New Mexico, Georgia and Texas. We even shipped our equipment to Australia, and they are using our design to install subsurface irrigation systems there.”

Motes said he was staking his farm on the new irrigation.

“This isn’t something that you want to put in if you’re going to end up developing houses on your farmland,” he said. “This is going to be in the ground for 25 to 30 years before I’ll have to replace the tape.”

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14 comment(s)

Genevieve wrote on Oct 22, 2009 7:59 PM:

" I visited this spot in 2001 and had a wonderful time, in the two weeks I was there I greatly enjoyed the spring, the people and hiking in the surrounding area. The time I spent here was the highlight of my winter adventure. I played dominoes, drank tequila and picked up pretty rocks (and soaked in the spring of course!) It sounds like some terrible things have happened since and it's a shame that it's now closed. I would have loved to have seen it again. "

Tricia Wenzl wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:32 PM:

" Re: Eve Batchelder murder-2006. I personally knew Eve as did many of my other co-workers and we were appalled that her confessed murderer was allowed to plead to a lesser charge (obviously) to escape the death penalty. This was a pre-meditated murder and kidnapping, resulting in the death of a wonderful, gentle soul not to mention leaving her two children without their mother! Jason Martinez does not deserve to live at the expense of the taxpayers with the chance that he could be paroled! Society cannot afford to be "soft" for the fear of peer pressure. "

ciara wrote on Jul 17, 2008 9:06 PM:

" hi i would like to know what time the pool opens "

Warnar Moll Amsterdam The Netherlands wrote on Jul 14, 2008 11:20 AM:

" I agree with Rustom Kevala.
In literature there are many scientific indications that the preparation of the sacred liquid (Haoma),could not contain a Hallucinogen-Entheogen drug (cf publications of Harry Falk, Jan Houben, Frits Staal and the late Mary Boyce).
As a plant-physiologist and toxicologian, I did some study about the preparation of Parahom (as described in Avesta). From the scientic point of view it is impossible that the sacred drink is hallucinogen.
I do not understand the arguments of the Pima's Church of Cognizance.
It is as stupid as the assert: Jesus used Marihuana. "

tom wrote on Apr 19, 2008 3:15 PM:

" if having someone go through something like especially a child is not an invasion of privacy then nothing is but then thats the 9th circus for you "

F THE SYSTEM!!! wrote on Feb 14, 2008 9:15 AM:

" Who cares about ibuprofen anyways! its just a pill that peopel take for headaches and aches who cares about what the school system. If someone suffers from chronic headaches and stuff like that they should be allowed to carry it around. IT was a bad thing to distribute it around to others, but they should be able to keep it anyway. Its not like teachers are all that willing to let students out of the classroom just because of a headache!!! SMS should be sued. Strip searching a student like that should NOT BE ALLOWED!!!! "

LaVae McClellan wrote on Feb 5, 2008 1:51 PM:

" Eric and Kevin Yazzie are my brothers, they always will be. Yeah its true they had a history of fighting, but thats all u see. The Eric and Kevin i know are happy and fun loving, make everybody laugh. I miss kevin, but theres nothing we can do for him now. As for Eric they need to let my brother go already "

joe tapia wrote on Dec 9, 2007 8:05 PM:

" I have spent half of my life in this canyon along with my cusion juan luepke and I would like to know what threats to the public that our gate is causing. there is another way into the canyon then through our property. Just before you get to the cobra guest ranch on klondyke rd take the tully springs\old aravaipa town turn follow for about 4 miles there is a side road just after the second cattle guard the road turns east you have to open a few gates but there not locked. "

JOE TAPIA wrote on Dec 9, 2007 12:11 AM:

" THE ROAD THAT EVERY ONE HAS USED FOR THE LAST 20-30 YEARS, Is owned by my family. as I have been told to me by my father that the b.l.m and nature conseverency asked to use our road because their easement down by the river kept getting washed out by floods.So when norma put the gate up the b.l.m asked the conservency to redo the road by the river again conservency said no way. By,joe tapia "

Katelynn Nichols wrote on Dec 7, 2007 5:34 PM:

" Clifford Bea Fowler is My uncle ans my cousin Kelci's dad he may be a white supremeist but he still loves his daughter.But he should be held responsible for his actions. "

Stephen wrote on Nov 30, 2007 8:57 AM:

" My thoughts and prayer's go out to the late Bobby Bell's family. "

SMSmom wrote on Nov 9, 2007 12:11 PM:

" I will be notified if my child is in so much trouble that he may need to be stripped searched. "Depending on circumstances"--NO I WILL BE NOTIFIED!!! TRY ME!!! "

Keisha wrote on Oct 27, 2007 8:03 PM:

" I'm sure if these guys were a threat to society action would of been taken. I'm not condoning such behavior but Linda sounds like she's up to no good. "

linda wrote on Oct 26, 2007 11:59 AM:

" Is there any way to post the photos of these molesters "in" the schools so that the children and school staff may detect any possible molesters? After all they are the ones who would most likely see them. "

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