Water scarcity has introduced new challenges and opportunities for growers throughout the country. Without the water necessary to grow crops, farmers are looking at how they can efficiently use the water available to them through advances in technology and partnerships with government agencies and public universities. In Kansas, researchers, government agencies and farmers have long worked together to improve water availability in a state economically driven by agriculture.
“Not only is it important for farmers figuring out this future; it’s important for our entire state,” says Susan Metzger, director of strategic interdisciplinary program development and director of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE) and the Kansas Water Institute, Kansas State University. “Even if you don’t immediately connect your livelihood to food and ag production, our state’s economy is so dependent on making sure that’s successful.”
Kansas is unique in that the challenges from one side of the state to the other are significantly different. Western Kansas is primarily groundwater driven, while eastern Kansas is more surface water driven. This creates an extreme range of precipitation that no one-size-fits all solution can overcome.
“In our shared border with Colorado, we get fewer than 15 inches of precipitation a year, and our shared border with Missouri, we get more than 45 inches of precipitation per year,” says Metzger. “You can imagine, when we talk about water scarcity, that looks really different depending on where you are in Kansas.”
These variations in water availability create a balancing act for the farmer to use the water more effectively, says Jonathan Aguilar, professor and water resource engineer at Kansas State University.
Solving the challenges around water variability requires a three-fold approach dependent on a community committed to improving on-farm irrigation efficiency. This takes buy-in from all stakeholders and continuous innovation.
Solving the water scarcity problem will require farmers to look at the most efficient and economic impact of every drop of water. State and local policy, smarter crop choices, and the adoption of technology all play a pivotal role in this process.
“From a policy standpoint, we have several water conservation tools that are unique to Kansas,” says Metzger. “The local enhanced management areas, or LEMAs, and the water conservation areas, or WCAs. These are tools that a local producer can adopt that holds them in accountability to reduce water use but also provides them a lot of flexibility in the way that they make use of their water.”
Growers are also transitioning away from traditional commodity crops like corn to crops like edible beans and different forage options that require a lower water demand.
“When you have that much variability from a climatic standpoint, you also have options when it comes to what we plant,” says Metzger. “We’re learning that we can be really viable with different plant varieties that are also really important to our state’s economy.”
Aguilar adds that beyond crop management decisions, farmers also must make decisions about the irrigation systems they are using and when they should be using them based on the water available to them each season. This is where the technology comes into play, helping farmers answer tough questions.
“Should they be adjusting the nozzles or the packages, or should they even be irrigating the whole field or part or only half of the field?” he poses. “Or could they do a diversified cropping system wherein they could add more water on one section compared with the others?”
Soil moisture and plant sensors can help growers maximize their water and decide if they need to irrigate or if they can wait for rainfall.
“It’s almost like a bank account, wherein you know when your bank account is going down, and you know that you’re expecting a deposit from the rain, then make sure that you still have that bank account open to be able to get that rain,” says Aguilar. “Don’t fill it with the irrigation water, because otherwise the rain that is going to come in will become more overrun off rather than being used by the crop.”
The key to water irrigation is creating the most efficient system possible. System level audits of irrigation systems ensure what you have in place is already operating at its best. They look at everything from the energy supplying the system to nozzle flow rates to make sure everything is functioning as well as possible. Irrigation engineers at Kansas State University regularly work with producers to undergo these audits and implement effective water efficiency strategies.
“We’re finding that even just that basic audit sometimes results in a 10% to 15% efficiency gain and a reduction in water use,” says Metzger. “It’s not the cool bells and whistles; it’s the most foundational thing, but it’s so incredibly important.”
Going beyond a simple audit, advances in technology are the next step for greater operational efficiency. About 10 years ago, the Kansas Water Office started a program where producers were given the opportunity to implement and highlight the different technology available for a working operation. Known as water technology farms, these farmers had to make a personal commitment to reduce their water to be eligible.
The first eligible participant in Holcomb, Kansas, committed to reducing their water use by 15% and paired that with various technologies, which today still allow the farm to remain committed to efficient water practices.
“That farm has been transitioned over to the original producer’s nephew but still maintains a real commitment to always advancing the next technology, becoming even more efficient with what they have, and also trying things that may not seem kind of normal for western Kansas, including the role of cover crops in soy soil moisture management,” says Metzger.
The state’s longest running success story is its Sheridan 6 LEMA project in Northwest Kansas. The project involved 100 square miles of producers who were concerned they would run out of water. For the past 15 years, they’ve voluntarily committed to reducing their water use by 20% in order to reduce the decline of water in their aquifer. To achieve this reduction, they changed their cropping system and implemented various technologies.
“They are very mindful of when they have to apply irrigation water,” adds Aguilar, noting further economic analysis found that the cash flow for these farmers compared with farmers outside of that area did not drastically change. This indicates that using less water has no correlation to a farmer’s profitability.
The LEMA project busted another misconception Metzger hears, which is the idea that if you lower your water use, it only creates more water for your neighbor.
“We’ve seen that proved wrong in Sheridan County,” she says. “They’ve reduced their water use, and we’ve actually seen rebounds in the aquifer beneath their properties, so water that you save stays and benefits you.”
The key to water irrigation is creating the most efficient system possible.
There are a number of programs available to help growers implement more efficient strategies and navigate the challenges caused by water scarcity, including KCARE, which works to advance the research and engagement needed to improve environmental sustainability for food and agriculture production.
KCARE is a partner at the Flickner Innovation Farm, which brings together a team of K-State researchers and extension specialists, as well as industry organizations and state and local agencies, who work with the farm’s owner and operator in Moundridge, Kansas, to identify shared research projects. The initiative’s most recent project is the implementation of a 360 RAIN system, an autonomous irrigation system that helps to irrigate irregularly shaped fields with low-yielding wells.
“Kansas does a really good job of always trying to push with a sense of immediacy and shared concern,” says Metzger, pointing to the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Conservation receiving a Regional Conservation Partnership Program project. The multi-million-dollar project will allow the state to provide cost share for irrigation system audits and upgrades throughout western Kansas.
“That significant influx of funds is going to be really great for doing just what I described, making sure those system audits are in place and that we can layer on the best technology for reducing water use,” says Metzger.
This type of commitment from the state is pivotal in overcoming the challenges over water scarcity throughout the state, which Metzger emphasizes will come down to building a community that supports that commitment and the advancement of the next technological solution.
“It really is a people thing,” she says. “It’s about making personal management decisions and then understanding that impact in your community. It doesn’t matter what tools you have in place; if it’s not a personal and a community commitment, it won’t make a difference.”
Amy Wunderlin is an experienced freelance writer. You can reach her at amywunderlin@gmail.com.
Editor’s note: This is a revised version of the printed article, which contained inaccuracies regarding Kansas State University’s work. This version has been updated as of May 15.
