06/06/2026
It was the best of times and the worst of times. Earlier in the week was the former. The grass was growing abundantly, the cattle looked slick and happy. But as often happens on the ranch, by the end of the week it was the worst of times.
Those of you who have center pivots like ours can likely relate. If you can't, it's probably because you haven't been around them enough. But we’ve never had two wrecks in the same week, and it’s rare to have one at all.
The first debacle happened on the lease ranch. The last span completely collapsed. Literally tons of steel water-filled pipe hit the ground, shaking all pocket gophers in their burrows. It hit hard. Solid pieces of 8 inch mainline pipe crumpled like tin cans.
Round two was today. My longest pivot, which we installed brand new right after we purchased the ranch 22 years ago, climbed a wooden jack fence and attempted to flip over. Pivots will climb cars, combines, pickup trucks or 1 ton hay bales. I've seen it all. Their slow and inexorable grind forward takes no prisoners. It simply goes over or crushes to oblivion, or flips enroute. I'll never forget one time when the same pivot climbed a stuck car with two visiting gals in it. They screamed like Godzilla himself was attacking their Toyota sedan.
We stopped the machine before it totaled the car (there is an off switch on every tower).
Coincidentally, both pivots were most likely wrecked by the same thing. An insect, most likely a leafcutter bee. There are130 species native to North America. They like to build nests behind a tiny microswitch in the control box in each tower superstructure. When that microswitch fails to activate, the pivot goes out of alignment. And then, if it continues to go awry, things start to unravel. The irrigation robot goes rogue. Pivots climb fences. They cross highways. They flip over. Or all of the above.
The costs of such breakdowns are sky-high. I had one flip over several years ago to the tune of 20K. Thankfully, I had insurance, and a thrifty pivot expert who found some used parts.
All because of a bee. They say ants are stronger. Hogwash. I've seen bees flip several tons in a second. Right here on Alderspring.
-Glenn
