SECTION 5
IRRIGATION Th is se c t i o n brou g ht t o y o u i n as soci a t i o n wi t h
A short history of pivot irrigation
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RANK Zybach was born in Oregon in 1894. His family moved to Nebraska later that year. He began farming, but enjoyed inventing and designing much more. And invent he did – he is credited with designing and building what would become the first centre pivot in 1948. Apparently, he got the idea after seeing a poorly done irrigation demonstration in 1947. On the way home he remarked to his friends, “There has to be a better way to irrigate.” Frank started on the first ‘self-propelled sprinkling irrigation apparatus’ system later that year. His original pivot swung around on a set point, sprinkling water over the crops. It was also only about four feet tall and got stuck easily. He said the hardest part about making it was keeping the towers aligned. In the years that followed, he modified and refined the design to improve operational efficiency.
The patent The pump was placed at the centre of the field next to a well, irrigation pipes supported by trusses were mounted on wheeled towers that could make a circuit of the field under their own power, leaving that distinctive circle pattern. Gun-style sprinklers sprayed water out from the pipes at set intervals, with smaller nozzles closest to the pivot and the largest nozzles at the end of the line. The system could cover 133 acres of a 160-acre field - a quarter of a one square mile farming section - and didn’t have to be disassembled by workers when it was time to plant, till, or harvest. Frank was issued a patent for his invention in 1952. He and his partner, A.E. Trowbridge, attempted to sell the systems in the local area for two years. Farmers being farmers – they were a tad sceptical and were reluctant to invest
Frank Zybach’s prototype centre pivot irrigation machine.
46 — AUSTRALIAN SUGARCANE ANNUAL 2019
Frank Zybach, inventor of the first ‘selfpropelled sprinkling irrigation apparatus’.
in this innovation. But there was a business man on the lookout for investment opportunities. Born in 1922 in Omaha, Nebraska, Robert B. Daugherty was a graduate of Central High School in Omaha and Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. After graduating from Carleton in 1942, Daugherty served in World War II. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, first serving in the Pacific Theatre, and later in China. After the war ended, Daugherty was considering a career in the Marines until his uncle and mentor, Frank Daugherty, convinced him to consider post-war business options. Robert recognized the potential of a small manufacturing company on a farm just west of Valley, Nebraska, owned by an inventor named Sam McCleneghan. After careful consideration,
Robert B. Daugherty.
