CQ Perspectives Jan 2004

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Water usage regulations were changing and

Wendell R. Nicholas, Owner of Nicholas Farms in Johnson,

an., needed to change his traditional ood irrigation system.

Like many other producers in the area, his options were sprinkler

r subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). After carefully evaluating the

pros and cons of both systems, Nicholas chose SDI, which few

ansas corn farmers were using when he rst instal

ection of tape six years ago.

“I didnʼt want to lose production on the corners

ith sprinklers, and the drip irrigation uses less wat

f the acreage – that was the deciding factor for me,

ays.

efore deciding on SDI, Nicholas had several q

bout the system. First, he had to know if the increa

quipment costs would pay over the long run.

“Itʼs quite a lot more expensive,” Nicholas notes

ther hand, it is more water efcient and could have

useful life than a sprinkler system. The projections f

rrigation s̓ useful life have been extended even sinc

nstalled it. We̓ re also very conscious of performinmaintenance to extend our system s̓ life.”

icholas visited several farms using SDI before

n using “tape” from T-Systems International, Inc.

s placed 15-inches deep, and he has never disturbe

r had to replace sections since installing the rst T-

products six years ago.

After choosing to install SDI, he consulted with

uest on how to maximize his investment and prod

reater yields by fertilizing through the system.

“Weʼve learned together,” notes Glen Robertson

onsultant for Crop Quest. “Weʼve been able to use

rip irrigation system to apply 50% of the Nitrogen

ertilizer. We have encountered a few challenges usiystem. For instance, itʼs hard to get a corn stand wi

having a little moisture on the ground s̓ surface in a

year. To get the seed to germinate in a dry spring, w

had to revert back to ood practices and water the c

to establish a stand.”

n Nicholasʼ system, the tape is placed 60 inches

nd water emitters are placed every two feet on the

eep tape, which provides about ve feet of soak to

rops. The farm also has battled corn rootworms an

to control the infestation by intense adult beetle trea

ince a larvae rescue treatment is ineffective withou

push the insecticide down to the root zone.

“Weʼve relied heavily on Crop Quest to help us navigate

through the corn rootworm infestation and have been discussing

using rootworm-resistant varieties to prevent problems in the

future,” Nicholas says.

He notes that lu in also is a concern for the s stem but

Increasing Yields, Decreasing Water Use with Drip IrrigationWestern Kansas producer utilizes drip irrigation to increase yields, conserve water

1C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF CROP QUEST AGRONOMIC SERVICES, IN

Volume 13 • Issue 1 • January 2004



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2 C r o p Q u e s t P e r s p e c t i v e s w w w . c r o p q u e s t . c o m

By Jim Gleason

Regional Vice President

St. John, Kan.

Q

When is the right time to control

weeds in established alfalfaelds?

A f the weed problem is mustards,

andelions and other winter annual

weeds, the best time to treat established

alfalfa elds is late winter when the hay

is dormant. The ground needs to be free

of any snow cover during treatment so

none of the weeds are missed.

If the target weeds are summer annual

grasses and broadleaves, then consider a

treatment between cuttings. The treat-

ment needs to be applied before many of the weeds begin to develop. Usually this

requires a second application during mid-

summer months to continue the control.

There are several chemicals to choose

from based on the weed spectrum to be

controlled. Generally, all treatments work

by contact as well as residual activity.

This residual action will help control any

late-emerging weeds as well.

Increasing Yields Continued from page 1

by Dwight Koops

Regional Vice President

Ulysses, Kan.

Oats are a multi-purpose crop that can add exibility to your

rotation. Oats can be harvested for grain, hay, green chop or usedfor grazing purposes. If the crop is harvested for grain, the straw

lso has value as quality bedding material. Oats are also utilized

s a cover crop for alfalfa and other legumes because they tend to cover the ground

uickly after emergence. The oat hay/legume mixture yields a very high-quality feed

s well.

he growing season for oats is short enough that they can be planted following

fall-harvested crop and producers will still have time to double crop following oat

arvest. In situations where irrigation water is in short supply and is being spread

ver too many acres, oats give a producer the opportunity to efciently water some

cres in the off season and again during the growing season. Some producers are

reaping a nancial benet by following oats with a forage sorghum crop. Brown Mid

ib sorghums are becoming very popular. They have high feed value and can be

raised with much lower expenses than traditional silage corn.

Oats produce high-quality hay or ensilage that is desirable to many livestock

producers. In order to produce high-quality hay, oats must be harvested at the proper

ime with little or no rain while they are in the windrow. At times, this hay is almost

s valuable as high-quality alfalfa.

Oat production is similar to most other small grains with some exceptions. Certain

phid species are more destructive to oats than other small grains, but the manage-

ent of these insects is likely to be similar.

here are not as many herbicide choices available to an oat crop, but weed control

s manageable. It is important that good weed control be achieved in an oat crop to

preserve the quality of the feed, yield and harvestability of the grain.

Deciding whether to take oats for grain or forage depends on local markets and

eed. Push a pencil to oats and see what works best for your operation. If oats t intoour rotation, it may enhance your cropping exibility.

Consider Adding Oatsto Your Rotation

along the track keeps particles in suspension as water drips through the emitters.

There are three main types of plugging Nicholas is concerned with: physical

plugging from sand and soil, which can be prevented with ltration; chemical

plugging from calcium or hard water deposits, which can be dealt with by acidizing

the system; and biological plugging from growth within the system, which can be

controlled through chlorination.

Even though Nicholas is worried about these types of plugging issues, careful

maintenance to the SDI equipment has kept the system problem free.“What we have seen is an increase in yields from the drip irrigation with less

water usage,” Nicholas notes. “Weʼre able to raise 5% to 10% more crops on half the

water, and we are in compliance with state regulations.”

Nicholas farms about one-third of his total acreage using SDI, and the remaining

elds are split between ood irrigation and sprinkler systems. In the future, Nicholas

plans to install more SDI.

“As energy costs increase, we will continue to install more tape and convert the

existing ood irrigation to drip,” Nicholas says. “The increase in water efciency is

worth the initial expense.”





Mission StatementCrop Quest is an employee-owned company dedicated to providing the highest quality agricultural services for each customer. The quest of our

network of professionals is to practice integrity and innovation to ensure our services are economically and environmentally sound.

Crop Quest Agronomic Services, Inc.

Main Ofce: Phone 620.225.2233 • Fax 620.225.3199

Internet: www.cropquest.com • [email protected]

Crop Quest Board of Directors

President: Ron OʼHanlon

Director: Dave Wetmore

Director: Jim Gleason

Director: Dwight Koops

Director: Cort Minor

Director: Chris McInteer

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAID

DODGE CITY KS

PERMIT NO. 433

“Employee-Owned & Customer Driven”

1204 Frontview, P.O. Box 1715

Dodge City, KS 67801

Crop Quest Agronomic Services has launched Real

Ag Data – a new service that combines real-time data

from its 75 regional agronomists and Precision Ag

pecialists to generate weekly maps, charts and reports

howing crop conditions, fertility levels and insect/

disease infestation trends for an entire year. Even after

harvest, a yearly compilation CD is available to show

the annual implications for a subscriberʼs area. Just a

few of the benets producers can receive from Real

Ag Data services include:

Examining pest geographic and temporal trends.

• Marketing potential (crop condition).

• Assessing trends even while away from the farm,

especially benecial to absentee landowners.

• Accessing both broad-range (trade area) and

narrow-scope (county) information.

Even those not directly involved in cropproduction can benet from this information service.

Farm management companies, insurance companies,

government agencies, chemical manufacturers, seed

uppliers, chemical and seed retailers and applicators

can all benet from subscribing to Real Ag Data.

Crop Quest Launches Real Ag Data Services, Web Site

For more information about Real Ag Dataor to subscribe to the service, visit

www.realagdata.com

or call (620) 225-2233.

CQ Perspectives Jan 2004

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