News and Events

Micro Irrigation Publication

The Basics of Micro Irrigation by Scott Sanford & John Panuska – Bulletin A4119, University of Wisconsin-Extension.

The publication is a comprehensive resource for the beginner and the seasoned user of micro or drip irrigation. The publication covers the basics of laying out a system, types of components, recommendations for different crops, determining watering rates and times, maintenance and much more. You can download a free copy at the Learning Store – https://learningstore.extension.wisc.edu/Assets/pdfs/A4119.pdf

How to handle small rain events   –

Dean Steele from North Dakota State University discusses in the July 2016 Water Spouts Issue, page 2, recommendation on how to handle small rainfall events with regards to irrigation scheduling. July 2016 Water Spouts

Irrigation Investment DST

This tool lets you explore the profitability of installing irrigation equipment at user-selected locations across the
Corn Belt. The Irrigation Investment DST combines historical weather data and crop model data with customized cost and loan information to help you decide if this long-term investment can be profitable. Discover how many years from 1980-2005 irrigation would have been profitable, calculate the net present value of investment, and compare dry land and irrigated corn and soybean yields under different rainfall conditions. This tool can be customized based on yields and irrigation costs, and provides valuable insight about an expensive long-term investment that may help you cope with variable climate conditions.  The user guide is available here.

Water Spouts – Monthly Irrigation Newsletter from North Dakota Cooperative Extension (posted 3-7-2016)

This newsletter is published from May to October and contains helpful items to aid in doing a better job at irrigation. In the September 2015 newsletter there was an article on the time required for a pivot to apply various depths of water based on different well capacities. This could be helpful for determining how much water was applied based on the time it took the pivot to complete a rotation. A link to Water Spouts is included here.