PROGRAM INFORMATION

EQIP, WHIP, WRP, CREP & Continuous CRP: Applications for funding assistance and annual payments can be taken anytime at your local USDA Service Center.  Discussions are taking place to move the EQIP ranking dates up a month or two.  Make sure you get your applications in.

NSWCP: New money has arrived!  Applications for cost-share assistance can be taken at your local NRCS office.  The first approval date for irrigation practice applications will be Sept. 11, 2007.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July 22-26: Phelps County Fair
Aug. 2-4: Gosper County Fair
Aug. 6: CNPPID Board meeting, 9 AM
Aug. 14: TBNRD Board meeting and tour
Aug. 22: Whirlwind No-Till Expo near Bladen, Neb.  Go to www.notill.org or call 1-888-330-5142 for more information and registration.
* Times are tentative

#1 -- Invest in a Pump Test!!

Is air coming out of your nozzles?  Is your well surging?  Are your crops not uniform in their growth habits?  Are fewer gates being opened than once were?  This can all lead to reduced yields and ultimately less profit.  Investing in a pump test is the first thing you should do.  It can save money, time and headaches.  Shouldn't you know what's in the ground before you start investing larger dollars?  Because the wells around you are all fine, do not assume anything.  Your investment is with your well, not the other wells.  A pump test is an excellent indicator of current problems as well as potential problems.  This test provides you with the most current reliable flow, pressure, and drawdown information.  This information is vital in determining if new bowls are needed, if a new well is needed, or if the well needs to be drilled deeper.  For example, don't assume because the surrounding well water elevations are 60 feet deep that your's is 60 feet deep.  Do it right the first time.  Don't assume and have to redo what was done because the well wasn't investigated the first time.  Later in the crop season is the optimum time for doing pump tests while seasonal drawdown is at or near the peak.

Pump tests are also recommended when converting from a gravity system to a pivot or subsurface drip system.  The information is valuable for matching pumps and motors in order to get the most efficient irrigation system possible.

A pump test can be completed by your well person.  You can obtain and document the results on the NRCS-ENG-85 form, "Pumping Plant Inventory and Evaluation Worksheet."  This form is available at your local NRCS office or online at http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/references/public/NE/NE-ENG-85.pdf.  A sample of this form is shown below.

ACROSS THE TRI-BASIN NRD

EQIP Dryland and No-till Field Checks:

ASome of you may have already noticed NRCS staff or summer interns out checking your EQIP-funded irrigation projects for dryland and no-till contract obligations.  This week we got started in Kearney and Phelps counties.  We will continue to do these and work our way into Gosper County.  All irrigation-related EQIP contracts signed in 2003 through 2007 with dryland and no-till obligations will be field checked.  This past spring you all received a reminder letter with a map indicating which areas need to be dryland and no-tilled for the 2007 crop year.  Failure to comply with your EQIP contract could result in termination, repayment of funds, plus penalties.

If you have any questions related to this or anything else related to your EQIP contract, contact your local NRCS office at the address or phone numbers listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

Stage of Growth:

Corn (16-leaf to milk stage): We are at the peak water use stages for corn.  Nitrogen and phosphorous uptake is rapid.  Environmental stress at this time can greatly reduce yield.  At blister, the kernals are at 85% moisture and will start declining until harvest.

Soybeans (V6 to beginning pod stage): Soybeans are heading into the most crucial period of plant development in terms of seed yield (full pod stage).  Stress from full pod to full seed stage will reduce yields more than the same stress at any other period of development.  Soybeans at full bloom with 50% defoliation will reduce yield by roughly 6%.

Irrigation:

Since we are in or heading into the high water-use period of the growing season for corn and soybeans, irrigation is in full force where it is needed.  Rains continue periodically in places allowing a few days relief from irrigation demand.  As summer moves along, it seems these rains are scheduling themselves less often.  Depending upon where the rains have fallen recently, on the outside you can't see a difference between a lot of the dryland and irrigated crops.  However, there are areas where you can start to see a difference.

Last Thursday (July 12) hail took its toll in areas south of Elwood.  I saw soybean fields completely stripped of leaves down to the stems and corn with heavy amounts of leaf loss.

Lake McConaughy is at 33.5% capacity versus 29.0% a year ago. Flows in the North Platte River at Lewellen are at 185 cfs versus 150 cfs a year ago. Flows in the South Platte River at Roscoe are at 87 cfs versus 0 cfs a year ago.   You can track these flows on Central's web site.

Rainfall:
Rainfall amounts come from NeRAIN which can be found at http://dnrdata.dnr.ne.gov/NeRAIN/index.asp?&.

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET) and GROWING DEGREE DAYS (GDD) INFORMATION
(Crop ET data comes from CNPPID's web site)

Additional ET Information Sites:

KRVN radio broadcasts
KRVN.com
Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District
Water Use Hotline: 1-800-993-2507

Check out these web sites:

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." - Anonymous

If you would like to receive this newsletter via e-mail, or have any questions, comments or ideas, feel free to contact Curtis Scheele at the NRCS office in Holdrege or your local NRCS office at the addresses or phone numbers listed below.

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