Agriculture Engineer

Imagine you are standing in a hilly field of potatoes watching as a crane slowly lowers a 10-metre section of aluminum pipe into a freshly dug trench.

Behind the crane, a crew is busy welding the pipe sections together. You are watching all this activity because this is your design.

You're an agricultural engineer who specializes in designing irrigation systems, which is why the local irrigation district has hired you.

Several summers of drought conditions have decreased the productivity of dry-land fields, and the irrigation district needed to find a way to extend its system and carry water to the parched areas. You have been brought in to design a system of piping and reservoirs that will give farmers the water they need to grow their crops.

As an agricultural engineer, you combine your knowledge of pipeline design and construction with information on the area's geography, climate, and crop rotations to design a new system for piping irrigation water from the district's canals to dry-land fields.

You gather information on the local water table and historical weather data, particularly the longest periods between rainfall, as well as the water demands of different crops, so you know how large to make the reservoirs and connecting pipes.

Then you look at localized elevation and slope changes to determine the optimal placement for the reservoirs. These reservoirs need to be downgraded from the canal, so the forces of gravity will keep the water moving.

Finally, you use your irrigation schedule and water-flow rates to determine the type and size of pipe needed.

When completed, water will flow from the canals through a system of pipes you have designed and into reservoirs from which farmers can pump the water onto their fields.