Irrigation

Center pivot irrigating late-season corn

Scheduling the Last Irrigations in a Year with Delayed Crop Maturity

August 23, 2019
The last few irrigations of the season require some of the most important water management decisions of the year. An unneeded irrigation may waste 1 to 3 inches of water and 2 to 5 gallons of diesel fuel per acre and leave little room in the soil profile to capture winter/spring rains.

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Corn growing on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus. A new Nebraska study has quantified the benefits of irrigation among nine U.S. crops by analyzing yields from 1950 to 2015. (Photo by Craig Chandler/University Communication)
Figure 1. Corn growing on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus. A new Nebraska study has quantified the benefits of irrigation among nine U.S. crops by analyzing yields from 1950 to 2015. (Photo by Craig Chandler/University Communication)

Gap Growing Between Irrigated, Rainfed Crop Yields

August 13, 2019
A 65-year comparative analysis between U.S. yields of irrigated and rainfed crops has sounded a message to farmers, land managers and policymakers: Mind the gap. Researchers analyzed annual yields of nine crops on a county-by-county basis from 1950 to 2015.

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Site of the tunnel collapse in the Goshen-Gering-Ft-Laramie Canal

August 12 Canal Repair Update Meeting

August 7, 2019
The Gering-Ft Laramie Irrigation District will host a public meeting Monday, August 12, in Scottsbluff to update farmers and landowners on the repair of the July 17 tunnel collapse and canal breach. Photos take viewers to the site and inside the tunnel.

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Bill Todd updates Market Journal views on the irrigation canal collapse in western Nebraska.

Market Journal: Water Woes in Western Nebraska

August 2, 2019
On this week's Market Journal, producer Bill Dodd covers the devastating damage to a major irrigation canal in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming. Other topics include the grain markets, market facilitation payments, and the forecast.

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An aerial view of the sink holes created by the July 17 tunnel collapse on the Gering-Fort Laramie/Goshen Irrigation District canal.
Figure 1. An aerial view of the sink holes created by the July 17 tunnel collapse on the Gering-Fort Laramie/Goshen Irrigation District canal. The larger sink hole is approximately 100 feet across and 50 feet deep. (Photo by Justin Burkart, Goshen Emergency Management Association)

Update on Efforts to Restore Water to North Platte River Valley Canal

July 26, 2019
The Gering/Ft. Laramie Irrigation District and the Goshen Irrigation District (Wyoming) held stakeholder meetings this week to discuss the status of canal damage and repairs and how to restore irrigation water to 100,000+ acres. Initial canal repairs have started, with tunnel repairs expected to start soon.

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Irrigation canal washout from tunnel collapse
Figure 1. Area where the North Platte River Canal breached July 17, flooding nearby fields. Water flow to the canal was stopped and won't be continued until repairs can be made, possibly cutting short the crop season. (Photo courtesy of Chabella Guzman of KNEB Radio)

Wednesday A.M. Meeting to Focus on Prospects for Collapsed Irrigation Tunnel

July 23, 2019
The Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation District will host a public meeting Wednesday, July 24, in Scottsbluff to share information about the disruption of water deliveries caused by a tunnel collapse along the irrigation district’s main canal on July 17. It will be at 10 a.m. at the university's Panhandle Center.

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Area of the North Platte River canal where the break occurred July 17.
Figure 1. Area where the North Platte River Canal breached July 17, flooding nearby fields. Water flow to the canal was stopped and won't be continued until repairs can be made, possibly cutting short the crop season. (Photo courtesy of Chabella Guzman of KNEB Radio)

Growers in North Platte Valley Face Critical Water Loss with Canal Damage

July 18, 2019
Surface-water irrigators in the North Platte River Valley south of the river in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming have lost their water supply due to a washout in the main supply canal early Wednesday morning (July 17). The Bureau of Reclamation is assessing the damage.

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Matt Stockton accepting the Oustanding Extension Program award on behalf of the UNL-TAPS team.
Matt Stockton accepting the Oustanding Extension Program award on behalf of the UNL-TAPS team.

UNL TAPS Receives Outstanding Extension Program Award

July 15, 2019
The Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA) recently honored the UNL-TAPS program with the Outstanding Extension Program Award for demonstrably impacting the mindset and management practices of irrigators while engaging and educating a much broader audience.

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