Conservation Programs Help Nebraska Farmer Install, Improve Irrigation System

From USDA:

Posted by Morgan Rezac, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska, on December 4, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Center pivot irrigation systems use less water and are more efficient at uniformly distributing water across a field. NRCS photo by Jacob Robison.

As a little girl, Mary Kay Lyon followed her father around their south central Nebraska farm always dreaming of one day owning the operation herself. Lyon left the farm to attend college, but eventually made it back home when her father retired, determined to run the family farm.

“I wanted to farm since I was old enough to walk,” Lyon said.

Lyon grows corn and soybeans and raises cattle on the farm. Upon her return, she immediately began looking for ways to make improvements. Their crops have always been watered through an irrigation system, but Lyon knew improvements were needed on the old water delivery system.

She reached out to her local service center of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, (NRCS), in Holdrege, Nebraska to discuss how to achieve her land improvement goals through conservation practices.

Lyon’s objective was to install an efficient irrigation system that used less water and more uniformly applied water across a field. At the time, she was using an inefficient gated pipe system to irrigate her crops. This system used a large pipe that was laid across the end of the field and was perpendicular to the rows. Water was pumped through the pipe and gates would open up at each row allowing water to flow down the row to irrigate the crop.

She worked with Curtis Scheele, a water quality specialist at NRCS, to take advantage of assistance available through conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, and the Conservation Stewardship Program, or CSP. NRCS conservation programs like EQIP provided her with technical and financial assistance to ensure the irrigation system was designed to meet the needs of the cropland, while delivering irrigation water in the most efficient manner possible.

Lyon installed a center pivot irrigation system. Pivot irrigation acts like a large sprinkler system that irrigates crops from water nozzles suspended above the crop. Pivots use much less water than other irrigation methods. Because one of Lyon’s fields is shaped like a rectangle, the swing arm of the center pivot covers each corner. The pivot will pull the arm in as the irrigation approaches the road, conserving water.

“A center pivot is 90 percent efficient compared to the gravity pipeline, which is only 50 percent efficient in getting water on the crops,” Scheele said. “By installing a center pivot, Mary Kay is able to apply fewer inches of water to her cropland. By using these programs to install more efficient irrigation systems, less water is required and there has been a decreased amount of erosion and run off.

CSP is a conservation program geared toward farmers wanting to take their conservation efforts to the next level. Through CSP, she installed a remote monitoring system for her center pivots, which increased the operating efficiency more by allowing her to monitor water performance from her computer or cell phone.

Conservation programs helped Lyon make other conservation improvements to her farm, including the use of no-till practices and repairing a decades-old windbreak.

No-till is when farmers don’t disc the soil when planting, only punching a small hole needed for a seed. As a result of farming with no-till methods, Lyon said she makes less passes across the field with her tractor. Over time, no till farming increases infiltration of water into the soil, increases water holding capacity of soil and organic matter in topsoil.

She also repaired the old windbreak, enabling it to better protect the farm and calving pens from the cold, while also providing shade for livestock in the summer. NRCS provided financial assistance for her to tear out the old windbreak trees and replace them with two new rows of cedars and pines.

Christmas Tree Grower Branches Out

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Catherine Bailey, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon, on December 26, 2013 at 10:00 AM

Christmas trees are a staple crop for many farms in Oregon, including this tree farm off Interstate 5. (NRCS photo)

During a time of year more often associated with consumption than conservation, Daniel Logan, owner and operator of Logan Tree Farm near North Plains, Ore., shows that managing and preserving the land yields both profit and holiday cheer.

Raising Christmas trees is a family business for Logan, who can remember pruning and clipping trees as early as six years old. His family has grown Christmas trees in the area since 1883, and he continues the tradition, managing about 35 acres of Christmas trees, including Douglas, Noble, Grand and Nordmann Firs.

While the Pacific Northwest may be the among the largest producers of Christmas trees in the nation, growers face a number of challenges, including managing land for extended and sustained use, while coping with both unpredictable weather and volatile commercial markets.

Logan recognized the need for conservation to improve his land and in 1992 began working with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to plant cover crops. His goal was to reduce the need for chemical use and improve soil quality.

Logan eventually enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program, a Farm Bill conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to producers interested in conserving and enhancing natural resources on their property. With CSP assistance, Logan continues to reinforce and expand cover crops on his Christmas tree farm.

“It just seemed like the natural next step,” Logan said of his decision to enroll.

Since planting cover crops on his property, Logan has witnessed a number of benefits, including improved soil quality, a reduction in soil erosion and improved tree health. The land is also less muddy, which proves helpful in keeping trees clean and presentable for sales.

“It’s like working on a carpet,” Logan said.

All of these conservation efforts contribute to an improved crop yield, which can only mean good things for locals looking to find that perfect tree. Logan expects to sell upwards of 1,800 trees this year alone, with Noble firs standing out as his top sellers.

“The Noble is a good keeper,” Logan said. “They stand up well, and they’re just really pretty.”

Even so, Logan warns that even healthy, sturdy trees have a shelf life and shouldn’t be kept much longer than two to three weeks. While it’s possible to extend this time by a couple of days by lowering your home’s thermostat several degrees and keeping trees a safe distance away from any heat sources, Logan is adamant that most trees should be disposed of prior to a month.

As Logan and NRCS move forward in their partnership to improve soil quality and strengthen crop yields, the future for Christmas trees in Washington County, Ore. looks bright.

Secretary's Column: A New Report Shows the Critical Benefits of Farm Bill Conservation

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on December 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM

America’s farmers, ranchers and landowners have led the way in recent years to conserve and protect our soil, water and wildlife habitat.

With the help of Farm Bill programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has worked with a record number of producers since 2009 – more than 500,000 of them – to get this important work done.

Ever since the Dust Bowl, we’ve known that investments in conservation on working lands and other wild areas is important. And this week, a new report amplified our understanding for the critical importance of the Farm Bill in protecting natural resources in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The report showed that over the past seven years, conservation efforts have reduced the amount of nitrogen leaving fields by 48.6 million pounds each year – about 26 percent – and reducing phosphorus by 7.1 million pounds, or 46 percent.

These conservation practices are also preventing soil erosion, helping to ensure that our farm fields across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed remain vibrant and productive in the years to come. Conservation practices have lowered the estimated amount of eroded soil by about 15.1 million tons every year, or 60 percent. Put another way, that’s enough soil to fill about 150,000 railcars.

In addition to ensuring healthy cropland and clean water, these programs strengthen wildlife habitat that boosts outdoor recreation. From hunting and fishing, to camping and hiking, outdoor recreation adds more than $640 billion in benefits to our economy each year.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed initiative is just one of many landscape-scale initiatives undertaken by USDA in recent years. From the Mississippi River Basin to the Ogallala Aquifer, USDA has worked with producers to enroll millions of acres in targeted landscape initiatives – and today’s report once again highlights the positive impact this work can have across the nation.

From clean soil to healthier water, the benefits of conservation impact every American – and they’re one reason why USDA is pressing Congress this fall to provide a comprehensive, multiyear Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that continues our record conservation efforts.

A new Farm Bill would continue targeted conservation efforts on working lands that ensure soil quality, water quality, erosion control, forest restoration, and wildlife habitat.  It would continue major working land programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program, through which USDA has provided more than 190,000 landowner contracts since 2009, as well as the Conservation Reserve Program under which we have held a signup each year during this Administration.

A new Farm Bill would also ensure that tens of millions of acres remain in conservation practices by linking crop insurance compliance to conservation program participation.

Across the nation, our farmers, ranchers and landowners are stepping up to protect our natural resources. They deserve our support – and the most important thing that can happen today is for Congress to achieve passage of a new Food, Farm and Jobs Bill that stands by producers and continues our long legacy of conservation.