News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
An Alpine Farmer has created a solar powered water system that will be highlighted by the Overton County Ag Extension Office Thursday.
Chuck Anderson of Anderson Farms said the system works through 12-solar panels on a pump house at a natural spring. Anderson said it keeps the water line charged and pumps water across the farm to fill cattle waterers.
“Some of the work that we do there is artificial breeding and that’s how we kinda got started on this water project,” Anderson said. “The key to artificial breeding is having good nutrition. We found by draining our ponds and providing a clean water source really helped our animals along.”
The ag extension office will hold an open field day Thursday for any farmers wanting to view the system and to learn about solar water options. It starts at 5:00 p.m. Anderson said you can contact the Overton office for more details.
Anderson said the idea came about over two-years ago when the farm found a natural spring. Anderson said they started with a make-shift pump that only watered about half of the herd. Anderson said that is when they wanted to seek outside help to improve the system.
‘We have a lift pump that is in the ground at our spring,” Anderson said. “We lift the water up a hillside probably a rise of about 50 feet or so of a distance of 400 feet to a 1,000 gallon tank. At that point, we have a tankless pressure pump that charges approximately 6,800 feet of water line across the farm.”
Anderson said once it was completed, the farm drained its two lakes, so the cattle would use the new water source. Anderson said the state reimbursed 75 percent of the project cost through a grant.
