In Klintehamn, a small municipality on the west coast of Gotland, Sweden's largest island, you can find Klintebys Gård, Svante Rundfeldt's historic farm. The farm dates back to the 17th century, and Svante has been running it since 1998 with respectable success: Klinteby's Gård is one of Gotland's largest farms, with substantial pig production as well as corn and vegetable cultivation on an area of around 300 hectares.
The conditions for farming in Gotland are anything but ideal, as the island is one of the driest and at the same time hottest places in Sweden. Water is a limited resource in Gotland. This means that there is actually an excess of rain, but at the wrong time. The situation is getting worse with the extreme weather events that have become more frequent in recent times: farmers are struggling with either too much or too little water.
An innovative overall concept
The hot summer of 2018 also prompted Svante – who is always searching for innovative concepts for his business - to take a closer look at the problem. He needed an irrigation system that would cover as large an area of mixed crops as possible, involving minimum labour, and that would not waste a drop of water. In addition, Svante was looking for a solution to collect the rainwater in a way that it would last for an entire irrigation season.
After extensive research, the ingenious farmer opted for a well thought-out overall concept based around a Bauer pivot system with SmartTouch, SmartRain and VRI (Variable Rate Irrigation).
Water – a precious resource
The first thing Svante did was to build a pond that would collect the rainwater falling in abundance from November to January and that would supply water to the pivot. During these rainy months, around 200,000m³ of water ends up in the reservoir, plus around 60,000m³ of cleaning water coming from a nearby vegetable factory. Clever organisation and a precise irrigation control is required to come by with these water reserves.
The longest pivot in the north
A Pivot Centerstar with 15 spans, overhang and corner arm turned out to be the ideal system for Svante's requirements. Overall, the system reaches a length of 900m and irrigates an area of 120 hectares. Svante is proud to own the longest pivot in the northern hemisphere.
Since different crops such as cereals, potatoes, beetroot and broccoli are grown at the same time on the area to be irrigated, VRI was a must. In addition, there are paths that separate the individual field areas from one another and that should not be irrigated. In light of such requirements, the VRI system can fully demonstrate its strengths. Thanks to the flexible individual nozzle control, the water dose can be precisely adjusted to each crop in its respective growth stage. Paths or fallow fields can be left out regardless of their shape. It all works fully automatically and can be controlled remotely using a smartphone.
This precision is essential for Svante, because the water collected in winter must last for the whole season.
Diese Präzision ist für Svante unerlässlich, denn das im Winter gesammelte Wasser muss für die ganze Saison reichen.
Prime example Klintebys Gård
Svante's innovative irrigation concept is considered a model project. Klintebys Gård is frequently visited by students who are interested in efficient water management, recycling and resource conservation. With his modern farm, Svante Runfeldt is considered a pioneer and is repeatedly invited to speak about his experiences at different events. “Agriculture is not part of the problem, as is sometimes claimed. On the contrary, when it comes to climate issues and water management, it is part of the solution,” Svante is convinced.
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