The 2022 drought has depleted much of the Southwest’s water capacity and weakened crop prospects, bolstering the need for farmers to continue to find ways to use water more efficiently.
John Duff, consultant for National Sorghum Producers in Lubbock, said:
Duff adds that water availability has declined in the South Plains region “since the first wells were drilled.”
While that may be a dire prediction, Duff is at least somewhat optimistic. “The situation is more subtle than lack of water for irrigation,” he says.
“Certainly wells aren’t pumping what they used to pump.
John Duff, consultant for National Sorghum Producers in Lubbock, said: (Photo by National Sorghum Growers)
more changes coming
He acknowledges better genetics, changes in crop management, and improved irrigation techniques to maintain yields. It is.” Still, more changes will be needed. “The risk is to run out of water completely,” he says, regardless of technique or genetics. Nothing can grow in an empty environment. That’s what we’re worried about. So we need to figure out how to transition in a way that doesn’t impede economic growth in the region. ”
He doesn’t expect state or federal solutions to water resource management.
“We have not seen water regulation at the federal level. The conversion from less efficient techniques to more efficient techniques from drip, low water to pivot or drip is something we will continue to see.”
help is available
Duff says the Natural Resources Conservation Agency’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) is one of the most popular programs available to farmers.
He said the NSP advocates for these conservation efforts. “Irrigated sorghum can be a great tool for conservation if the techniques recommended in EQIP are managed correctly.”
Duff concedes that a one-size-fits-all approach to managing irrigation is a pipe dream. It is especially difficult in a diverse region such as the Southwest.
He also acknowledges that farmers don’t like regulation, but many understand the need to monitor and protect precious water resources. It seems, he says.
voluntary restraints
Duff cites the region of northwest Kansas as a good example of how voluntary restrictions can help farmers. gives the ability to restrict water.
“Producers set themselves a 12-inch pumping limit,” explains Duff. “The limit was democratically approved by the members of the Groundwater Management District. They all agreed.”
The program was successful. “They have seen that yields have not declined significantly in any of the crops in the region, as well as improved profitability. Most importantly, groundwater loss has stopped. .
“It defies common sense that you can do anything to affect what’s going on underground, because if you don’t pump it, your neighbor will pump it,” says Duff. “Northwest Kansas disproves that.”
But it needed buy-in from all water district members to make it work.
“This is one situation,” says Duff. I’m not saying this option is universally applicable, but these producers have shown that stopping or limiting pumping stopped the decline. rice field. ”
Duff says the Kansas producer had no choice. “They had to figure out how to make a profit. They adopted precision irrigation technology, converted to LEPA and added sorghum to the crop mix. I found it.”
According to Duff, the framework, voluntary restrictions and improved crop and irrigation management could work in other regions by adapting to the region. And the frameworks that are already in place could help and make farmers even more efficient than they are today,” he says.
texas waters
Duff doesn’t expect big changes to Texas water laws. “I think we can get by with current state law,” he says. “We have to find a way to address this decline. While the Kansas scenario cannot be interpreted precisely, we have implemented similar programs in our water bodies. There is an 18 inch voluntary limit.
“No one can pump 18 inches today,” he says. Simply find the right combination for your individual property rights, Texas law, farmer, and irrigation system. The policies we adopt must work for farmers. ”
Farmers seem to embrace programs that improve water efficiency. “They are more aware of falling water tables and the need to be more efficient than they were just a few years ago,” says Duff. “This year there was a management change mid-season.”
He says some of the same farmers who struggled until 2011 faced a different situation this year because they didn’t have water to begin with. We cut acres, etc. We probably didn’t change anything in 2011.
farmers adapt
Duff said years like 2022 will emphasize the adaptability of farmers. He referenced a farm modeling course he had taken years ago. The course provided an opportunity to analyze different outcomes from several possible options for farmers.
“We modeled profitability based on a series of assumptions. At the end of three hours of complex modeling work, we arrived at exactly what we expected.”
Farmers, he said, “have these models in their heads, hearts, souls and guts, and manage on a daily basis according to these intuitive models. Farmers are always amazing. Farmers are smart.” “They intuitively know all this. Models can enhance management, but intuitively, farmers already know all this.”
Duff says farmers will have to rely on their intuition as we move into an era where water resources are even more limited than they are today.
conservation incentives
He hopes to put more emphasis on conservation through EQIP and other programs to make it easier for farmers to use their intuition. He hopes the next Farm Bill will include more funding for conservation and can help growers adopt practices and technologies that improve water-use efficiency.
Often times it’s a matter of capital. They don’t have capital or their payment structure doesn’t allow for changes. These incentives make it a little easier to move on to the next step. ”
He recommends farmers visit local NRCS offices and commodity organizations to determine what opportunities are available. “NRCS offers hundreds of programs that farmers can use to improve efficiency.”
He cites research showing that variable-rate moisture sensors can increase profitability by as much as $100 per acre. “Curiously, this increase is not due to water savings or increased yields, but rather to improved quality. “
These incentives are what Duff envisions as key elements of future water management. “There will be more funding to pay for the adoption of precision agriculture, such as variable rate sprinkler technology, conversion to LEPA and drip irrigation, etc. We will continue to see funding for these things. , we need to figure out how to put farmers in control, with tools that make incentives affordable.”
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