Jaymelynn Farney, beef systems specialist, Parsons, KS
Historically hauling water has primarily been used for cattle grazing croplands; however, with severe droughts through most of Kansas hauling water has become more common even for summer grazing. This guide is offered to provide some information as to whether hauling water can be an option for your operation.
Hauling water is a temporary method for supplying water to livestock. Hauling water may have a fairly low initial cost to implement but can have a fairly significant daily cost. Typically hauling water involves filling water carrying equipment, driving to the field, and then emptying it into a water tank. Water hauling equipment can be varying sizes, from small totes <500 gallon that can be placed in pickup beds to 2,000-gallon water tanks on trailers. Other water hauling trucks can hold 2,000 to 4,000 gallons of water. Semi-truck potable water haulers are also options in which there has been reported carrying capacities of 4,000 to 11,600 gallons.
When using the water hauling method, the number of stock tanks needed, and the frequency of delivery will determine the gallons necessary to haul. To determine the number of tanks you first need to determine the amount of water to be consumed by the livestock. This can be calculated by taking the number of head times the average water intake for the class of livestock. A general rule of thumb for cattle in the winter is 1 gallon per 100 pounds of body weight and during the summer 2 gallons per 100 pounds of body weight. If you don’t plan on hauling water every day, then you also need to multiply the daily intake by the number of days between fillings and that gives total water holding needs. Now that you know the average water intake, you need to determine the water capacity of the tank. Each gallon of water is equal to 231 cubic inches in the stock tank.
An example calculation is below for the scenario: 100 dry pregnant cows (average weight of 1,400 pounds) are grazing corn residue. You want to haul water once every three days. You have 10-foot diameter round tanks that are 2 feet tall.
100 cows x 15 gallon/head/day = 1,500 gallons/day
1,500 gallons/day x 3 days = 4,500 gallons needed for each delivery of Monday, Thursday, Saturday
588 gallon/foot depth (for 10-foot diameter tank) x 2 feet tall = 1,176 gallons per tank
4,500 gallons needed ÷ 1,176-gallon capacity = 3.82 stock tanks needed
For this example, you would need to place 4 of the 10-foot stock tanks in the field. If deciding to haul water every other day then you would only need 3 tanks or 2 tanks if daily.
In addition to knowing how many tanks and what method you will use to haul the water (water carrying equipment needs), there are a few additional concerns, or points, that need to be addressed. Cattle will compact the area around water sources. Knowing this, placement of the tank is important in management of the soil. Producers can place the tanks in low yielding areas, areas that already are compacted, or have the option of moving the tanks around the field to try and alleviate the severity of compaction. This is one primary advantage to using a temporary watering method. The portable tanks also allow you to place the tanks in an easy to access location for filling.
There are some disadvantages and cautions with hauling water. One caution is the equipment used to haul the water. Do not use re-purposed totes or water tanks that contained fertilizer. The plastics can absorb the nitrates, which will leach back into the water that the cattle will consume. This can lead to either subclinical or lethal nitrate toxicity issues. Ideally the water hauling equipment should be new material or if purchasing used, make sure it was only used to haul water – even better would be potable water hauler.
Another caution is the actual mobility components of the water hauling equipment. When selecting the hauler (pickup, truck, trailer, semi, etc.), make sure that the equipment can get to the water tanks in the field in all-weather events (ie snow, ice, mud). This is critical as cattle still need water access daily, even during periods of cold stress. During the cold periods when water freezes quickly, hauling water plans may have to change. For example, if you had been hauling water every-other-day, during the cold snap where the ice is too thick for the cattle to break or ice melt on its own, you will need to change to a daily to multiple times a day water delivery system so that all animals have access to fresh water.
Cost of hauling water
Each producer needs to do their own calculations to determine if it is economical to haul water to their herd. A publication written by Oregon State University in 2008 showed that the cost of hauling water ranged from $0.27/head/day up to $1.56/head/day. That wide range of prices was dependent on the distance traveled and the water consumption of that group of animals. In order to accurately calculate your cost- determine miles to travel, fuel cost for that drive, labor hours to fill the hauling vessel and tanks, and cost of water if purchasing through rural water supplies multiplied by the intake of the animals.