Example 11: Sweet Furrow
Saves $51,000 in Earthworks
Introduction
Davco furrow irrigated sugarcane field saved over $50,000 in earthworks.
Location: Field 7A, Davco Farming, Ayr, Queensland, Australia
Area: 120 ha or 302 ac
Irrigation: Furrow irrigation
Crops: Sugarcane
Other information: Fully irrigated row cropping, generally sugar cane, surveyed on 40m grid.
*Vertical Exaggeration x100
Design Inputs
Surface Type Selection: OptiSurface 1D (Must drain in 1 Direction - eg down rows)
Minimum Allowable Downslope: 1:1600
Maximum Allowable Downslope: 1:800
Max. Allowable Downslope change: 1:2000
Minimum Allowable Cross-slope: 1:-250
Maximum Allowable Cross-slope: 1:250
Max. Allowable Cross-slope change: 1:2000
Cut/Fill Ratio: 1.2
Earthmoving Rate: $1.00 /m3
Results
Average Cut Depth: 0.07 m
Volume of Cut: 53,000 m3
Volume of Fill: 44,000 m3
Earthmoving Cut/ha: 444 m3/ha
Earthmoving Cost/ha: $444 /ha
Total Cost: $52,893
Surface Type Selection: Single Plane (Use plane of best fit)
Results
Average Cut Depth: 0.18 m
Volume of Cut: 113,000 m3
Volume of Fill: 94,000 m3
Earthmoving Cut/ha: 952 m3/ha
Earthmoving Cost/ha: $952 /ha
Total Cost: $113,000
Conclusion
The OptiSurface design reduces average cut depth by 60% and total earthworks cost by 53% compare to a traditional single plane design.
