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>> When you install a system of livestock watering facilities, your animals will drink
from a tank, a trough, or a ball water.
You can choose a setup that's best for your land.
Let's take a closer at what's available and what might work best for you.
I'm here with Eddie Martin, a field engineer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Eddie, farmers have several choices when it comes to the type
of livestock watering facility they choose to install.
>> Eddie Martin: They do.
They can -- they have the choice to use concrete tank which is a big round or square.
They can have heavy duty plastic tanks.
They also can use equipment tires and if freezing is a concern,
they can use ball waterers or freeze proof waterers.
>> What does a farmer need to think about when he decides
where to locate livestock watering facilities on his land?
>> Eddie Martin: There might be a place that he thinks he wants the watering facility
but he also has to consider can he get water to it?
Can he get power to his water source?
And is it really going to fit in with his livestock grazing pattern?
It's better not to locate your watering facilities in a shady area
because the dominant animals in the herd will keep the younger animals or the smaller animals
from drinking during hot weather.
You really don't want to locate your mineral feeder near the water tank because the cows will
over eat the mineral and eat more than they need.
Your cattle should never have to walk more than 800 feet
to get water from any part of the pasture.
If we follow that rule, they'll have better use of the entire pasture rather
than just eating there close to the water tank.
>> Eddie, how big do the tanks need to be?
>> Eddie Martin: The size of the tanks depend on the species using them, the number of animals
in the herd, and the capacity of both the water source and the pipeline.
The height of the tank depends on the age of the animals using the tank as well as the species
of animals that you're planning for.
Lightweight tanks need protection from animal damage.
So they need to be guarded by wooden or a large steel pipe guard post.
There are two types of valves we use in watering troughs.
The automatic valve works of a float system.
The manual valve requires the operator to be there to put water in as the animals need water.
All watering facilities should have a means to drain the tank
to remove contaminants and sediment from time to time.
You need to know the type of trough you'll be using so that when you install your plumbing,
the plumbing will be easy to access for maintenance purposes.
Algae will grow in the water trough.
So occasionally you will need to clean out the water trough
by draining the trough and removing the algae.
Also after a [music] freezing event, you need to go back and out check to make sure the trough
and the float valve have not been damaged by the ice.
>> It's easy to get all the information you need to install a system
of livestock watering facilities for your animals.
You can stop by any NRCS field office and pickup copies of the conservation standards.
Or you can go to sc.nrcs.usda.gov, click on EFODG.
For watering facilities, select NRCS standard number 6 one 4.
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The Natural Resources Conservation Service helping people help the land.
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