Crop Water Use for Sept. 2-9, 2025

September 9, 2025

Crop Water Use for Sept. 2-9, 2025

By Gary Stone - Extension Educator, Xin Qiao - Irrigation and Water Management Specialist

crop water use graphic

Water needs are easing for most crops, but late alfalfa cuttings and sugarbeets are still driving irrigation decisions — see this week’s ET data.

The estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle and northeast Colorado crops for the previous week is shown in the tables below. The tables are based on data gathered and calculations made by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension educator, and Dr. Xin Qiao, extension irrigation and water management specialist, both based at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

Crop water use will vary across the Panhandle due to variations in ET, crop growth stage, temperature, soil type, wind and precipitation events. Crop water use will assist growers with irrigation scheduling and efficient water application and use.

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Table showing estimated crop water use for selected Nebraska Panhandle crops for the previous week ending Sept. 7, 2025. Data is organized by crop (dry edible beans, corn, sugar beets, potatoes, soybeans, alfalfa, winter wheat, grain sorghum), crop growth stage, and location (Scottsbluff, Alliance, Sidney, Broadwater, Oshkosh, Enders). Each cell contains water use in inches, with higher values for actively growing crops like alfalfa and grain sorghum.
Figure 1. Estimated crop water use for Nebraska Panhandle crops: Sept. 2-9, 2025.
Table showing estimated crop water use for selected Colorado crops for the previous week ending Sept. 9, 2025. Crops listed include dry edible beans, corn, sugar beets, potatoes, soybeans, and alfalfa, with water use (in inches) shown by crop growth stage and weather station location (Ault, Kersey, Haxton, Holyoke, Akron, Yuma, Wray, Olathe). Higher water use is noted for crops like sugar beets and alfalfa.
Figure 2. Estimated crop water use for northeast Colorado crops: Sept. 2-9, 2025.

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