The Agricultural Budget Calculator program's (ABC) calculations for irrigation energy and labor costs have been updated in order to provide you with improved decision-making tools for irrigation application. To fully take advantage of these new features, you will need to modify your existing irrigation system records and irrigation application records.

Continue reading to view a summary of what has changed, how those changes benefit you and steps to get started updating your records.

Summary of Changes

• ABC is now tracking the amount of water applied to each field by each irrigation system.
• ABC is now considering energy in terms of the amount required to apply an acre-inch of water to a field.
• ABC is now separating out labor costs for irrigation into two categories:
• Total labor required for annual maintenance, setup, and teardown.
• Labor required to apply an acre-inch of water to a field.

Benefits to the Producer

• More accurate estimations of energy and labor costs associated with irrigation.
• Decision point: Cost to Add Another Inch of Water
• Estimates the energy and labor cost to add an inch of water to any/all fields covered by irrigation systems.
• Check Point: Energy Efficiency of Irrigation Pumping
• Uses pressure and lift to calculate ideal energy efficiency.
• Finds comparative efficiency of irrigation based on historical energy and water use.

Steps to Update Records

• Update Irrigation System Records
• Go to Manage Inputs > Irrigation Systems and click on the name of a system that needs updated.
• On the Irrigation System Details page, click on the Edit tab to start making changes.
• Find the energy use per acre-inch for the system using one of these options:
• Pressure/lift calculation.
• Historical use calculation.
• Direct entry.
• Enter labor hours and workers for annual system maintenance, setup and repair.
• Update Irrigation Application Records
• Go to the Field Operations page for an irrigated enterprise that needs updated, and click on the Irrigation tab.
• Click on the Edit button next to an irrigation application record that needs updated.
• Enter the estimated amount of water applied to each field for the growing season.
• Enter the estimated labor hours for water distribution to each field.
• Be sure to save any changes you make to your irrigation system and application records.

Questions on these changes? Join us on Wednesday, Sept. 28 during ABC Q&A Sessions to learn more. Register for the Zoom link here.