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.  EQIP ranking dates may be moved up a month or two this year so make sure you stop in your local NRCS office to get your applications signed up.

NSWCP: Applications for cost-share assistance can be taken at your local NRCS office.  To be considered for the September approvals, applications must be completed and submitted by Aug. 31.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Aug. 2-4: Gosper County Fair
Aug. 6: CNPPID Board meeting, 9 AM
Aug. 14: TBNRD Board meeting and tour
Aug. 16: Irrigation Strategy Field Tour near Loomis. (See below for more information.)
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

Start Planning for Last Irrigation !

It is recommended that soil moisture levels drop to 40% (60% depletion) at crop season's end.  This will save water and fuel as well as allow off-season moisture to replenish this soil profile.  To do this, predicting the last irrigation is important.  The information needed to predict last irrigation is: 1) Available Water Capacity (AWC) of soil type; 2) current drop stage of growth; 3) predicted water use by the crop to maturity; and 4) amount of usable water in the root zone.  This prediction process will assume no rainfall occurs.  Should rainfall occur, the process needs to be repeated.

The following is a chart for normal water requirements between various crop stages and maturity.

An example of predicting last irrigation is shown below.  You can also get a copy of NebGuide G82-602-A at your local County Extension office.  There is a similar publication on-line at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/AGENG2/mf2174.pdf.

If you have questions or would like assistance in predicting last irrigation, contact Curtis Scheele at 308-995-6121, ext. 3.

ACROSS THE TRI-BASIN NRD

Numerous Irrigation Strategy Field Tours in August:

During the month of August, there are ten Irrigation Strategy Field Tours one can attend.  The focus is to examine irrigation management strategies to conserve water and save energy expenses.  There will be three tours within the Tri-Basin NRD.  One is northwest of Minden on Aug. 2.  Maybe a little late for this info, but hopefully not if you get this via e-mail and have nothing already scheduled.  The other two are near Loomis on Aug. 16, 1 1/2 mile west of Rd. 741 and I at 10 a.m., and the other is 1/4 mile east of Rd. 734 and E at 1:30 p.m.  If you can't make these, others that may be close to you are tours north of Alma on Aug. 7 and on the southeast edge of Bartley on Aug. 23.  Another tour will be on Aug. 23 near Upland and one north of Curtis on Aug. 30.  Some tours farther away include one near Palisade on Aug. 14, near Ainsworth on Aug. 21 and near Imperial on Aug. 28.

For more information on locations and agenda items, you can visit http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/0707310.shtml or you can contact Steve Melvin at 308-367-4424.

Stage of Growth:

Corn (Blister to dough stage): Corn is still in high demand for water but it should start declining.  Just prior to the dent stage, kernels along the length of the ear begin to dent or dry out.  At dough stage, the kernels have approximately 70% moisture content.

Soybeans (Beginning pod to beginning seed stage): Full pod marks the beginning of the most crucial period of plant development in terms of seed yield.  Demand for water and nutrients are large throughout the seed-filling period.  During this time, half of the acquired N, P, and K is from vegetative plant parts and half from soil uptake and nodule activity.

Irrigation:

Rains continue to come at the right times.  The dryland crops were starting to look stressed, but the recent rains have given them a nice boost.  A lot of wells have been shut off this week due to recent rains.

To conserve storage water, CNPPID will reduce releases from Lake McConaughy and use water from Johnson, Jeffrey and Midway lakes during the last irrigation deliveries.  Deliveries are scheduled to end on Aug. 21.  Scheduled reductions in lake levels could be delayed if significant precipitation occurs.

Lake McConaughy is at 30.2% capacity versus 24.4% a year ago. Flows in the North Platte River at Lewellen are at 371 cfs versus 176 cfs a year ago. Flows in the South Platte River at Roscoe are at 50 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

Predicting Last Irrigation Example

Crop: Corn          Growth Stage: Dough
Water required to maturity (see chart above): 7.5"
Soil Type: Holdrege silt loam     AWC: 2.3" per ft.
(Soil information available at your local NRCS office)

1.  AWC x root zone (4 ft. depth) = 9.2 in. total AWC

2.  Maximum water depletion of 60% x 9.2 = 5.52" of maximum water depletion in 4 ft. root zone.

3.  Current soil water depletion (measured) = 2.76" (30% depletion x 2.3"/ft. x 4 ft.)

4.  Remaining plant available water = 2.76" (5.52 maximum depletion minus 2.76" already depleted.)

5.  Irrigation requirement = 4.74" of irrigation water needed for plant to reach maturity (7.5" of water to reach maturity minus 2.76" of water available)

Note: This all assumes no rainfall.  Should rainfall occur, the process needs to be repeated.

Check out these web sites:

"Our cup will truly run over only after we have sealed the character cracks." - John D. Rockefeller

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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