It was 1947 and J.L. Clegg was attaching pipes to a free-flowing artesian well on his tobacco farm. That same year, L.E. Connell and assistant county Extension agent J. O. Hensley adjusted pipes on H. Langdale, Jr. Farm. And in 1951, Dock Jones was using dynamite to make ditches.

Crops and livestock need water. Finding better ways to get supplemental water to them is one of farming’s oldest traditions, if not obsessions. Though the basic need and idea remain constant, irrigation systems and approaches have changed over time. Take a look at irrigation in action more than 60 years ago in the South.

(Photos in this gallery were submitted to the Digital Library of Georgia as part of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences photo collection.)