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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2016)
February 5, 2016 CapitalPress.com California center helps farmers make right irrigation choices By JULIA HOLLISTER For the Capital Press The current California drought is the worst in recent memory and could continue, said Sarge Green, project man- ager at the California Water In- stitute in Fresno. “It could continue even with a ‘wet’ year because we have substantially over-ex- tracted groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley since 1970 to the extent it is at its deepest av- erage elevation ever,” he said. Groundwater, he said, makes up from 42 to 100 per- cent of the water supply, de- pending on the surface water availability and the location. The original water center at California State Universi- ty-Fresno was established to study irrigation technology in the 1980s. The California Wa- ter Institute was created as part of the 2000 voter-approved bond issue known as Prop- osition 13 and predicated on the idea that the region needs an impartial organization that could also de- velop sound wa- ter policy ideas and practices. “Water avail- ability has be- come a signii- Sarge cant challenge Green for some areas of the state and especially in the San Joaquin Valley, and competition for wa- ter will likely force more rapid changes,” Green said. “These changes include treatment and use of supplies with marginal water quality.” The resulting costs will force more investment in spe- cialty crops, as their higher re- turns are needed to cover the higher costs of water, he said. “There has already been a shift of cropping patterns, such as much-reduced acreages of alfalfa and cotton,” he said. “That trend will continue.” Green had advice for farm- ers and ranchers regarding ways to save money and water on irrigation. “Water and energy eficien- cy investments have to be eval- uated from the standpoint of their cost and beneits,” he said. “Whether you elect to install new technology depends on factors like your soils, topog- raphy (slope mostly) and future water costs. If the investment returns better crop results that cover the investment and more, that is a good move.” However, he said, “There is often the assumption that auto- matically going to something like drip irrigation will save water, energy and money.” If a drip system is installed to conserve water and poten- tially increase crop yields, that design may force a farmer or rancher to constantly use pres- sure from a well rather than waiting for his or her turn of surface water, he said. The energy costs of lifting the well water and pressuriz- ing the drip system may not be economical if the crop returns are not adequate, he said. If that’s the case, using surface water may have been the better choice. Creek gets a makeover, with lots of help By HEATHER SMITH THOMAS For the Capital Press The amazing transformation of a degraded segment of Peb- ble Creek in southeastern Idaho near Bancroft was 10 years in the making. Two channels low through the property of Mike and Roxy Holsten, and sometime after 1941 those channels had been straightened by a previous land- owner for irrigation purposes. Chris Banks, a water quality resource consultant for the Car- ibou Conservation District and conservationist for the Idaho As- sociation of Soil Conservation Districts, said that over time the channels had eroded, severely damaging their banks and wid- ening. “It was dificult for Mike to get his equipment across these streams. His livestock went down into the stream to drink Turn to CREEK, Page 8 Irrigation Package for $195 • Tests for minerals that can affect plan growth • Different plants/crops can tolerate varying levels of such minerals as salt, boron, nitrate, etc. • Use the information to check growing conditions for each specific plant/crop which would be grown Tests in the Package: pH, Specific Conductance, Alkalinity, Boron, Calcium, Chloride, Hardness, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Nitrate, Phosphate, Ortho, Potassium, Sodium, Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Sulfate *Arsenic testing free with package! (A $35 value) 10% off any additional testing with mention of this ad www.waterlabcorp.com Salem, OR 503-363-0473 W16-2#7 W16-1/#14 7
