Irrigation for corn and soybean is essential across much of Nebraska. With ever-increasing costs for energy and labor, and concerns for natural resource overconsumption and environmental footprint, decision-making for irrigation scheduling has become a critical management task for many producers. 

Conventional irrigation scheduling for corn and soybean requires constant crop field scouting, which is not only time consuming and costly, but also demands past experience and educated judgement. This is always a challenge to those who lack experiences or new to the business. 

CropSmart is a science-based, data-driven irrigation scheduling tool for corn and soybean producers. It was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation, led by George Mason University with contributions from institutions including the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). 

CropSmart Irrigation Scheduling Service creates a digital twin of a producer’s field to track crop water use, 3D water flow and soil moisture balance within the crop root zone — all in real time. It deploys a high-powered digital 3D hydraulic model with high spatial resolution rainfall data and other weather information, plus one-week weather forecasts. The tool recommends irrigation when soil water drops below the preset water depletion threshold, where crop water stress and yield loss may begin. Critical settings, such as water depletion threshold for different crop stages and type of irrigation technology, can be adjusted by users. In addition, the tool can be configured to send daily irrigation scheduling notifications via email.

Its basic service for irrigation scheduling is free but requires a user to create an account. 

To get started:

1. Go to CropSmart and click "Decision Ready Information" near the top of the page, then “Account” and “Sign Up” in the upper-right corner of the screen. 
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to create an account. 
3. After logging in, select “Decision Advice Services” and then “Irrigation Scheduling Service” from the top menu bar. 
4. First-time users should click the “Add New/Execute” button in the lower-right corner of the screen. 
5. Add the following information: 
   • Field Information (Figure 1) 

• Irrigation Settings (Figure 2) 

• Irrigation Records (Figure 3) 

1. On the Field Information page, uncheck “Notifying at” if you would like to receive results instantly rather than by scheduled email notification.

For more information or questions, contact Haishun Yang, UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture associate professor.