Urban Sprawl Continues

Precision Irrigation Leads
To Efficiency

Tommy Horton

Urban Sprawl Continues

One challenge facing producers in nearly every cotton-producing state is the tenuous relationship between ag communities and urban sprawl. This encroachment of city populations into farm areas is creating water rights battles across the country.

Porter believes it is another example of why farmers should be efficient in their irrigation.

"We see this problem everywhere nowadays," she says. "It definitely puts more pressure on the producers to demonstrate that they are more efficient in their practices.

"Producers have always been good stewards of the land. But that's as much of an economic survival strategy as it is basic values."

As one researcher so aptly put it, the future looks good for cotton production on the Texas High Plains – mainly because of the crop's ability to grow on lower levels of water.

"That's what makes this crop so special," he says. "It knows how to survive under pretty difficult conditions."

source : cottonfarming

The Perfect Combination

Precision Irrigation Leads
To Efficiency

Tommy Horton

The Perfect Combination

One of Bordovsky's colleagues is Dana Porter, Extension irrigation specialist in Lubbock, and she credits an unusual industry partnership that contributes to producers embracing new irrigation techniques.

She also says current economic conditions have forced producers to become more efficient.

"Water is a limited resource here in Texas, and producers have to be as efficient as possible," she says. "We have some farmers who are rapid adopters and very savvy about the tools available to them."

Porter also points to the working relationship among irrigation equipment companies, Extension specialists, conservation experts and producers as being advantageous for all parties in the industry.

"All of us seem to be on the same page, and that's part of the strength of where we are in irrigation research," she says. "You're bound to make progress when you have this kind of cooperation among so many groups."


source : cottonfarming

Praise For Producers

Precision Irrigation Leads
To Efficiency

Tommy Horton

Praise For Producers

Bordovsky says credit must be given to today's cotton producer for being astute and sophisticated in his management practices – especially as it pertains to irrigation.

He says most producers are well aware of all the issues confronting them, and water availability is at the top of the list for Texas farmers.

"You must understand that producers have to balance the need to conserve water for the future with the current need to make a living when they farm each year," Bordovsky says.

"They have to pay bills, raise their children and send them to college. They do a good job of balancing all of these things as they make their decisions each year."

source : cottonfarming

One test strategy involved the benefits

Precision Irrigation Leads
To Efficiency

Tommy Horton

One test strategy involved the benefits of "banking water" for the future. In other words, a pre-plant soil moisture profile may indicate that a field is so dry that available water for it would be better utilized elsewhere, and it doesn't need to be irrigated.

In one area, existing soil moisture and rain are saved for the next year's crop, while making more water available in other areas.

Another strategy involves applying pre-plant irrigation water. Depending on conditions, a producer can apply water, divert it to other uses or save it – all in the same season.

Both strategies attempt to maximize water efficiency through irrigation timing and, consequently, use limited amounts of irrigation water.

source : cottonfarming

Most researchers agree

Precision Irrigation Leads
To Efficiency

Tommy Horton

Most researchers agree that drip irrigation can work, but the system must be maintained properly to realize any potential benefits. Bordovsky found that clogged lines could be cleared if manganese levels in the water were causing the problem. By adding hydrogen peroxide concentrate, the situation improved.

Other research has also documented results for breakthroughs in maintaining efficient irrigation. Bordovsky's team has studied two approaches that directly deal with existing soil moisture profiles.

One test strategy involved the benefits of "banking water" for the future. In other words, a pre-plant soil moisture profile may indicate that a field is so dry that available water for it would be better utilized elsewhere, and it doesn't need to be irrigated.

In one area, existing soil moisture and rain are saved for the next year's crop, while making more water available in other areas.

source : cottonfarming

In January 2009

Compensating For Late Planting

In January 2009, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned EPA's policy and ruled that pesticide applications made to, over or near water bodies will require NPDES permits. CropLife America (CLA), along with other entities, has requested that the panel's decision be reviewed by the full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The "general permits" referenced by the panel's January decision could take months or perhaps years to develop. They are especially vulnerable to possible litigation for which farmers and applicators, not product registrants, could be held responsible.

"Over three decades and through two CWA amendments by Congress, EPA has never issued an NPDES permit for pesticide application," says Jay Vroom, CLA president and CEO. "We're confident that Congress never anticipated its ban on the 'discharge of a pollutant' without an NPDES permit would apply to pest control activities."


source : cottonfarming

I’ll be lucky to have a square

Compensating For Late Planting

• "I'll be lucky to have a square on my cotton by the fourth of July, much less a bloom."

• "All of these choices will help a little, but the fact is that without Boll Weevil Eradication, there would be no chance of making a crop."

• "I anxiously await my consultant's scouting report."


In our July Web Poll, we are switching gears from a production-related question to a regulatory one.

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program has long been used by EPA under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to regulate point source discharges of water contaminants. Congress exempted ag storm water runoff from nonpoint sources from the CWA's permitting program, and EPA's 2007 rule similarly exempted properly made pesticide applications.

source : cottonfarming