And it's true. Unfortunately, there are limits to what can be achieved. My "set" was too big, and some of my furrows haven't made it through the field yet. I don't know if they ever well. I'm switching to the next set tomorrow, whether the first set is done or not.

What is a "set," you ask? A "set" is the part of a field one irrigates at one time. You see, my field has 641 furrows. That's an odd number because the cotton is planted eight rows at a time, and there's always one furrow more than the number of cotton rows. Why? Why! Geez, do I have to explain EVERYTHING?

Okay, picture a field in your mind. Rows of cotton. Between the rows are the furrows. One row, one furrow, one row, one furrow, and so on. Except there's a furrow on each side of the field, right? So, there's always one furrow more than the number of cotton rows. Really. If you don't believe me, draw it out on paper. You'll see. Eight rows, nine furrows; 16 rows, 17 furrows; 640 rows, 641 furrows. Anyway, I irrigate every other furrow, starting with the outside furrow, so I have 321 furrows to irrigate. My water supply is a deep well, driven by a 60 horsepower electric motor. It produces about 1200 gallons per minute. This is not enough water to irrigate all 321 furrows at one time, so I must divide the field up into "sets."

I irrigate one "set" of furrows, and then the next, and so on, until the field is done. "Batch" would be a better word, but all the other farmers would laugh at me if I started a "batch" of furrows. Just like at the hardware store, you have to learn the lingo if you don't wanna get laughed at! I chose to try to do the field in three sets. I should have chosen four. But even with this mistake, I am using less water, more evenly, than I would have without the surge flow valve. I'll finish in nine days, using 47.7 acre-feet. If I had gone with four sets, I would have finished in eight days, using 42.4 acre-feet. Without the valve, I would have needed 12 days, and 63.6 acre-feet, to do the field. And the results would have been much worse, with some areas getting less than half as much water as others.