Could sustainable irrigation save your farm money?

Improve your bottom line – and the environment – with three irrigation tools.

It’s no secret. Sustainability is important to farmers. 

Don’t forget about sustainability when it comes to your irrigation system.

“Farmers can use irrigation sustainably by making sure they are delivering the water as accurately as possible,” says Jason Krutz, irrigation specialist for the Delta Research and Extension Center.

Three Tools
Krutz urges producers to adopt three irrigation water management tools: Pipe Planner or Computerized Hole Selection (CHS), soil moisture sensors and surge valves.

“If a producer is using poly-pipe to furrow irrigate, CHS (or Delta Plastic’s Pipe Planner) must be in place, or the other two irrigation water management tools will not work,” Krutz says.

By adopting these irrigation water-management tools, farmers can experience a reduction in water use – and costs.

“We’ve seen in soybeans that these three tools can reduce water use by 28 percent,” Krutz says. “That means your pump is running 28 percent less – and you’re using 28 percent less fuel. The cost of these tools can be completely offset by that reduction in fuel costs.”

Krutz says farmers should not expect new irrigation technology in the near future.

“Producers need to adopt these three tools – which have been proven to save money and water,” he says. “There is no silver bullet coming. The time to start using these technologies is now.”