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The Irrigation Sensation

March 21, 2010

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How do different types of irrigation affect agriculture and food production? Find out here.

By Mike Burger, Produce More Conserve More Staff

Irrigation equipment in a crop field.

The Irrigation Museum records irrigation practices dating back to 6000 B.C. People in Egypt and Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) used water from the flooding Nile or Tigris (Euphrates) rivers to grow barley in areas where the natural rainfall was insufficient to support the crop. The flood waters, which occurred July through December, were diverted to fields for 40 to 60 days. The water was then drained back into the river at the best moment during the growing cycle.

Irrigation has changed a bit since then and evolved into several different types—among them are surface, flood (furrow), sprinkler, drip (microirrigation or subsurface), center-pivot, and sub-irrigation.

Irrigated agriculture currently contributes to 40 percent of the world’s food production, and according to the U.S. Geographical Survey, in the U.S., irrigation accounts for about 65 percent of total fresh water withdrawals. Only 2.5 percent of the world’s water is fresh water—with almost 70 percent of the fresh water frozen in icecaps and glaciers.

Despite these numbers, irrigation continues to grow in popularity as it can increase yields of most crops by 100 to 400 percent. Especially in Nebraska, according to the U.S. Geographical Survey.

The High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal reports that while the number of irrigated acres is dropping in many parts of the country, it continues to rise in Nebraska, which now ranks first in the nation. By the end of 2007, Nebraska had 8.5 million acres under irrigation. The state added 560,000 acres between 1997 and 2002 and another 930,000 acres between 2002 and 2007.

This year, Grand Island, Nebraska, was home to the Husker Harvest Days Show—the only farm show dedicated completely to irrigation—Sept. 15-17.

“Irrigation is extremely important in our area because our rainfall can vary from 26 inches to 14 inches across the state,” Gary Zoubek, University of Nebraska, South Central Agriculture Laboratory, extension educator, Clay Center, Nebraska, said during the show. “So it’s very important for both corn and soybeans, and we’re even seeing more irrigation on wheat production.”

Zoubek said irrigation practices in Nebraska are changing.

“We used to have a lot of furrow irrigation,” he said. “And now we’re looking at having pivots or subsurface drip in varying areas. However, center pivot irrigation is the dominant type of irrigation in Nebraska.”

Zoubek said because of irrigation’s impact on the environment, alternate methods are being considered.

“At our at our Clay Center, Nebraska station we’re working on trying to utilize the water that’s already in the soil and dry it down, so that at the end of the season, Mother Nature can replenish it,” he said. “Most years we can get adequate rainfall over the non-crop season to replenish the soil profile. The research at the Clay Center station is continuously looking at ways to reduce inputs and look at different crop varieties to see how they perform.”

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