Summary of Research | 1

Agriculture is a vital part of the Texas High Plains economy. However, this agriculture industry is also dependent on water from the Ogallala Aquifer — water that is being used far faster than it is being replenished.

The Texas Alliance for Water Conservation (TAWC) has organized a partnership whose goal is to extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities. Area producers are cooperating with universities, industries, and government agencies to collect data and transfer improved technologies for improving farm profitability and water use efficiency (see figure). On-farm demonstrations of cropping and livestock systems and comparisons of irrigation scheduling techniques help producers decide how best to conserve water.

From 2005 to 2013, the TAWC has evaluated different crop species, irrigation delivery systems and tillage types to evaluate crop yields, costs of production, and net economic returns per acre-inch of water applied and from rain. As we move into Phase II of the project, we will continue to monitor these systems while adding additional acreage in a broader area to include more producers and counties.

Producers

All production-related decisions are made by the more than 25 producers involved in the project.

TAWC field sites involve more than 6,000 acres located in nine Texas counties: Floyd, Hale, Lamb, Lubbock, Crosby, Castro, Parmer, Swisher, and Deaf Smith. These sites

represent a range of agricultural practices including monoculture cropping systems; crop rotations; limit-till, no-till and conventional tillage practices; land application of manure; and fully integrated crop and livestock systems. TAWC sites also demonstrate key comparisons of irrigation delivery systems currently found in the Texas High Plains.

Data Collection TechnologiesThe project sites are being intensely monitored for

water use, soil moisture depletion, crop productivity, input costs and economic return. Each site is

Texas Alliance for Water Conservation“Water is Our Future”

Texas Alliance for Water ConservationBox 42122, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2122

Phone: (806)742-2774 Fax: (806)742-0988 www.tawc.us

The TAWC Project was made possible through a grant from the Texas Water Development Board.

Project Overview - Phase II

Producers

Data Collection Technology Transfer

Profitability while saving

water

Summary of Research | 2

Crops Grown in Phase IICotton Corn SilageGrain Sorghum Corn GrainForage Sorghum MilletPerennial Forage Grass for SeedAlfalfa WheatSunflowers Triticale

Total Acres --- 6,278

Tillage Methods Used

Conventional tillageLimit-tillNo-till

Irrigation Delivery Systems Used

LESA Center PivotLEPA Center PivotSubsurface DripFurrow Irrigation

Several sites will integrate livestock at various times throughout the year for varying lengths of time.

2014 Crops, Tillage and Delivery Systems

The TAWC project utilizes on-farm demonstration sites, including cropping and livestock systems, to identify the various production practices, technologies and systems that help maintain individual farm

profitability while improving water usage efficiency. One of the main goals of this project is to extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer, while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities.

The Texas Alliance for Water Conservation is a unique partnership of producers, data collection

technologies, and collaborating partners that include: individual industries, universities, and government agencies. The TAWC project was made possible through a grant from the Texas Water Development Board.

www.tawc.us

equipped with instruments to determine total water applied from the aquifer, solar radiation, temperature, rainfall, timing and amount of irrigation, and soil moisture. Integrated central processing controller equipment records, stores, and transmits data to a single database accessible to project participants.

Data Analysis &

Technology Transfer

Roles of the collaborating partners include installing and monitoring data collection equipment, documenting

production-related activities, developing economic models that evaluate the various systems, and conducting educational and communication projects designed to share activities and outcomes of this project with others.

Risk management specialists from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension analyze production data gathered from producer field records to calculate economic return from irrigation. Findings are compared for total irrigation water use and water use efficiency; crop and livestock productivity and profitability; and total input requirements (see table).

Online ToolsData gathered from Phase I of the TAWC Project

were used to develop online irrigation management tools. As we move into Phase II of the project, these tools will be expanded to include additional crops and field-specific irrigation scheduling. Current online tools are described below and can be found at www.tawcsolutions.org.

The Irrigation Scheduler is an aid for producers in determining a more refined irrigation schedule. This program utilizes weather information collected from the Texas Tech Mesonet along with specific producer input information to automatically calculate and update soil water balance for a specific crop. Some key inputs include: crop species, planting date, site rainfall, irrigation, and other environmental and producer information.

The Resource Allocation Analyzer is an economic-based decision aid, which uses economic variables provided by a producer to calculate cropping options that maximize per acre profits, whether at the field or farm level. By inputting information such as expected commodity prices, water availability, and enterprise options, producers can view cropping options that maximize their net returns per acre while accounting for irrigation demands and revenue potential. This user friendly aid is designed to help the producer match water supply to the cropping option which gives maximum economic return per acre.