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With Your Cover Crop pg. 10


Dr. Jason Krutz,Mississippi State University Extension research professor and a representative of the Delta States Irrigation Conference spoke at opening ceremonies at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Cotton&Rice Conference recently, where he said the biggest threat to irrigated agriculture in themid-South is aquifer depletion. Photo by John LaRose, Jr.


Water Farm


No To


Researcher Opens Eyes To Threat Of Aquifer Depletion In Mid-South


culture “T BATON ROUGE, LA.


he biggest threat to ir- rigated agri- in


the mid-South is aquifer


depletion,” said Dr. Jason Krutz, Missis- sippi State University Extension research professor and a rep- resentative of the Delta States Irriga-


tion Conference, who spoke at opening cer- emonies at the 20th


Annual National Con- servation Systems Cot- ton & Rice Conference


here recently. “Researchers have been


tracking water levels in our aquifers for decades, and their projection is that


by 2038, if we do not change the way we irrigate aquifer depletion could be a catastrophe. The pro-


jections indicate that as we in- crease the cones of depression throughout the Mid-South, a


number of wells within the cones of de- pression will run out of water, and then – what do we do?” He informed those in attendance of the


activities of the land grant universities and their federal counterparts in ad- dressing the issue, and he discussed the agronomic and economic solutions to the threat that can save farmers money and reduce the threat to shut agriculture down in the future. “There are declining aquifers in almost


every state, there’s no way around that,” Krutz said. “That’s a fact. The 2007 data shows this is one of the fastest growing irrigation regions in the United States. It could be catastrophic for agriculture. That’s the threat.” He urged farmers to look into the tech-


nologies available to save water that have been developed. “Eighty-percent of the irrigated acres in


Mississippi are furrow irrigated,” he stated. “You have to have computerized hole selection (CHS), i.e., Delta Plastics Pipe Planner, on your farm.” He dis- cussed surge irrigation, which, he said, will improve irrigation efficiency by about 25 percent, saving a farmer $10 an acre.


CONTINUED ON PAGE 16


Lull In Spring Rains Helps Corn Planting pg. 4


Stripe Rust Of Wheat Update pg. 10


Weed Control


Rice Plantingpg. 14


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