North Plains GCD – WCC Demonstration Update

Options for Limited Water
In the face of declining well yields and limited water, combined with the growing need for animal feed, the district decided to bring forage sorghum into the rotation to evaluate water use and profitability, compared to the traditional corn – cotton rotation. Forage sorghum (for silage production) was partnered with grain corn or cotton on each pivot and the irrigation amounts were carefully monitored. Now that we have finished irrigation for the season, we can see that by adding the forage sorghum into the mix, water use was reduced considerably. By splitting the acreage between corn and sorghum, the total irrigation application on the west pivot was reduced by almost 6”, when compared to an all-corn crop. This is a huge saving and may offer a solution for growers who are now struggling to fully irrigate corn, but the big question remains – how does this pencil out regarding returns?

Irrigation application since 1/7/24

The reason that the Water Conservation Center (WCC) was in a corn/cotton rotation in the first place, was to spread the water out so that it is not all needed at once by one type of crop. If you focus on this traditional corn/cotton crop mix then in 2024, the average water use would have been 19.2” across the two pivots. However, by including forage sorghum, this overall usage was reduced to 16.6” per acre. Not only is irrigation reduced but the forage sorghum provides an alternative to cotton, if the grower prefers producing silage over cotton for a variety reasons. Many farmers are also not set up to grow cotton, or the elevation in some areas reduces the yield potential. Since these fields have not yet been harvested, we will need to wait for the results, however the large differences in irrigation applications show that there are options that might just make your water stretch that little bit further! Stay tuned for more updates…