Irrigation

Irrigation end gun
End guns are a very common feature on center pivots in certain areas. (Photo by Steve Melvin)

Center Pivot End Gun Considerations

August 20, 2020
End guns have been on center pivots from almost the beginning and the merits of their use have been debated about as long. Some farmers would not have a pivot without an end gun and others would not have a pivot with one.

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Soil water gauge
Figure 1. Wouldn’t it be great to have a soil water gauge to help determine when the crop water supply is getting low just like the gauge in a pickup that tells how much fuel is left.

How To Keep Irrigation Cost Down On A Dry Year With Low Grain Prices

July 16, 2020
Irrigation expenses are usually the biggest energy cost on the farm. On dry years, they become even higher. So how does one know when the system must be started and when it can be turned off? How should the low commodity prices this year affect these decisions?

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Center pivot irrigation system watering a field

Vegetative Growth Stage Irrigation, Is It Needed This Year?

June 19, 2020
Research conducted by the University of Nebraska and elsewhere shows that corn is relatively drought tolerant during the vegetative period, but very sensitive to water stress during silking through early grain fill.

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ET sensors in a field

Is It Too Easy to Turn Irrigation Water On?

May 28, 2020
Every irrigator can make excellent irrigation scheduling decisions by getting the right information and analyzing the data. Today it is easier they ever to install equipment the will automatically record and help analyze the data before sending it to your computer or smartphone.

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pivot irrigation system operating in a corn field

Center Pivot Safety, an Essential Part of a Satisfying and Profitable Year

May 7, 2020
Pivots have several potential hazards, making it important to review safety procedures each year with every person on the farm. Every person that will operate the system should read all the safety instructions in the machine’s manual or be trained by a knowledgeable trainer.

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Snowpack on the Snowy Mountain Range that feeds the North Plate River system
Figure 1. Snowpack on the Snowy Mountain Range that feeds the North Plate River system. The US Bureau of Reclamation monitors snowpack to estimate the amount of water in the North Platte Basin likely to be available this growing season. (Photo by Gary Stone)

North Platte River Basin Snow Melt Runoff Update for 2020

April 13, 2020
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Wyoming Area Office has released their forecast for spring snow melt runoff for the North Platte River drainage. The forecast calls for above average snow melt runoff.

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Irrigated soybean in Perkins County, NE (2019).
Irrigated soybean in Perkins County, NE (2019).

Seeding Practices and Nitrogen Management for Western Nebraska Soybean: What Matters and Why

March 30, 2020
Continuous corn is the most common irrigated crop sequence in southwest Nebraska. Although rotating to other crops, such as soybeans, can mitigate some production issues of continuous corn and often boost the next year’s corn yield, larger adoption of soybeans has not readily occurred in this area.

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watering cornfield

Crediting Essential Nutrients Applied in Irrigation Water

December 18, 2019
Crediting some of the nitrate-N applied in irrigation water for determination of fertilizer-N rates has long been advised in Nebraska.

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