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Drought Brings Emphasis to More Efficient Irrigation by Associated Press Capital Press - July 19, 2002

HOLDREGE, Neb. -- The expansive Nebraska drought has placed renewed emphasis on water use, including the efficiency of irrigation systems on the state's farmland.

Three small pivot corners in Phelps and Kearney counties offer farmers a chance to see just how efficient systems can be. They provide even water application and no water losses from evaporation, deep percolation or runoff.

The corners are Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District subsurface drip irrigation demonstration sites.

Although such systems have been used for several years by groundwater users, CNPPID Conservation Director Marcia Trompke said the goal of the project is to see if they can work with surface water.

The three demonstration sites are farmed by Greg Linder northwest of Loomis, Scott Olson east of Axtell and Lloyd Erickson north of Funk. They are three of the firs seven systems in the nation to use in-line filters for sand and silt.

"We're real innovators, I guess," Trompke said.

Erickson said acceptance of any new farm technology requires someone to try it first. That was the case with a surge valves that improve efficiency of gravity irrigation systems.

"No one thought that would work," he said, "but it's the greatest thing for gravity" systems.

CNPPID offers cost-share incentives to surface water irrigators in Gosper, Phelps and Kearney counties to convert gravity irrigation systems to more efficient pivots.

A grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust was used to purchase materials for the demonstration sites, CNPPID provided the labor and the landowners offered use of their fields. Holdrege Irrigation did the design work, Trompke said.

All three landowners already had the water controls necessary, she said, "so this is just a replacement irrigation system . . . I'll be overseeing all three sites, offering what help I can. They'll (the farmers) determine when they think their crop needs the water."

She said subsurface drip irrigation requires shorter, more frequent irrigation than pivots.

"It's a real learning process for all of us. This first year may be a year of just working out the bugs," Trompke said. "Surface water is much different than using groundwater.

The new system should require less labor. "You turn it on and you turn it off, when it's working the way it's supposed to be," Trompke said. The system does require periodic flushing to get rid of organic materials.

Irrigation System Tested
News Briefs same issue of Capital Press by Associated Press

HOLDREGE, Neb. -- The expansive Nebraska drought has placed renewed emphasis on water use, including the efficiency of irrigation systems on the state's farmland.

Three small pivot corners in Phelps and Kearney counties offer farmers a chance to see just how efficient systems can be. They provide even water application and no water losses from evaporation, deep percolation or runoff.

The corners are Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District subsurface drip irrigation demonstration sites.

Although such systems have been used for several years by groundwater users, CNPPID Conservation Director Marcia Trompke said the goal of the project is to see if they can work with surface water.

The three demonstration sites are three of the first seven systems in the nation to use in-line filters for sand and silt.

CNPPID offers cost-share incentives to surface water irrigators in Gosper, Phelps and Kearney counties to convert gravity irrigation systems to more efficient pivots.