North Plains Groundwater Conservation District helping farmer use less groundwater
In this week’s Panhandle Runs on Water, ABC 7 News looks at how a demonstration program overseen by the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District is helping one local farmer use less groundwater while continuing production. (ABC 7 Amarillo-Drew Powell)
AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — Moisture matters when growing a corn crop. Corn requires between 18 to 30 inches of water per year pending weather conditions and location.
In this week’s Panhandle Runs on Water, ABC 7 News looks at how a demonstration program overseen by the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District is helping one local farmer use less groundwater while continuing production.
“Whenever we’ve had a dry winter in the past, we have to be a little more proactive,” said Harold Grall, corn producer. “We actually start pre-watering a little earlier.”
Grall has farmed in Moore County for 42 years. A new demonstration program is helping to meet the demand for more silage created by dairies while at the same time requiring less groundwater before harvest.
“We’re hoping to realize maybe an inch and a half to two inches or even a higher savings in our irrigation usage so that would mean shutting wells off in at the end of August instead of the end of September like we normally do,” said Grall.
“It does decrease the demand for water for the crop since the crop will be harvested prior to potentially some of the peak water uses for the plant,” said Kirk Welch, assistant general manager for outreach for North Plains Groundwater Conservation District.
Salvaging a portion of the corn crop as silage can help a producer recoup some production costs.
“Corn at its highest water use stage uses about a half inch of water and so maybe we can only pump a third of that maybe 20% 2,100 versus a half inch of what we’re using,” said Grall. “We’re in a deficit there’s a time in the year when you’re no longer able to keep up with the demands of the plant.”
Silage with a relatively high energy content is used to help fatten cattle and corn silage serves as a high-energy forage for dairy cows.
“Initially we weren’t very interested in that but there’s such a huge demand for silage and with a new dairy in our backyard, we thought it was something we needed to look into,” said Grall.
“We’re really partners with the producers in the area and try to work with them to do those two things maximize that groundwater resource while at the same time keeping them viable in their operations,” said Welch.
The hope is once this goes from being potential to actual factual more producers in the Texas Panhandle will take part in it. The board at the NPGWCD approved the demonstration program for 2023.
