You are a vegetable farmer that has just inherited 10,000 acres of prairie land

Question

You are a vegetable farmer that has just inherited 10,000 acres of prairie land in Kansas. You need to come up with the most efficient way to irrigate the land so that you can grow 1,000 acres each of tomatoes, watermelons, pumpkins, zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, onions, green peppers, carrots and sweet potatoes. The nearest surface water body is the Zebra river, 3 miles away. Groundwater is at a depth of 350 feet in sandstone. Average rainfall is 45 inches per year with about 1/2 lost due to evapotranspiration. Come up with an irrigation plan that will provide enough water to grow all of these crops in the most efficient manner.

Explanation / Answer

We will plan irrigation plan that balances water supply with minimum water wastage making optimum use of  all resources we have without overusing them.as available water sources are Zebra river which is 3 miles away ,groundwater which is quite deep 350 ft and average rainfall is not much with 45 inches in whole year.So one thing is clear we cannot depend on rain much.We will rely on groundwater but as it is quite deep already we will not use it to much level.we will use maximum the water of Nile river.We will design a drain that brings water from river designing it smartly so it covers maximum distance of 1000 km in minimum time.Now we will also tubewells and other groundwater pumping medias at the farm land very far from the river.we will plan crops that require regular water supply in farms that is closest to nile river.

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