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Irrigation in the Northern Great Plains
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Irrigation in the Northern Great Plains.

 

 

MonDak Irrigation Overview
Montana has a total of 8.4 M acres of harvestable crop land of which 1.8 M ac are irrigated. While only 21% of total farmed area, annual irrigated production accounts for about $630M or about 60% all sales from all harvested cropland in the state. The highly productive lower Yellowstone and Missouri River area of eastern Montana and western North Dakota, commonly referred to as the MonDak region, accounts for a very large portion of the state's irrigated farm income. Present irrigated production along the lower Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers is dominated by two-year rotations of sugar beets alternating with malting barley.  Read more of the overview here.

 

 

 

Selecting an Irrigation System

Selection of the type of irrigation system to install must consider a number of different factors before making a final choice.  These include the crop and crop water requirements, the water supply, the soil characteristics, the topography of the field as well as the size and shape, the climate of the area, and a number of economic factors such as labor requirements, available capital, and resource costs.  Many of the factors are interdependent, and while one may or may not indicate a definite need for a particular irrigation method or practice (or even the need for irrigation), the relationships between these factors must be considered. Download as a PDF (PDF; 630 KB). 

 

 

 

Irrigation of Malting Barley

The eastern Montana/western North Dakota (MonDak) area has rapidly become a major six-row malting barley production area producing up to 50% of the six-rowed malt barley produced in the United States. The region is semi arid with annual precipitation below the full water requirements of malting barley. Consequently, much of the most successful 6 row malting barley production is grown under irrigated conditions. Rejection rates in the MonDak area may be as much as 3 to 5 times higher for dryland malting barley than for irrigated, primarily because of too high protein. Download as a PDF (PDF; 86 KB).

  

 

Development of Site-Specific Irrigation

Abstract: An off-the-shelf PLC-based control system has been developed and field tested to enable site-specific irrigation of multiple 50 ft X 80 ft research plots using either mid-elevation spray heads (MESA) and low energy precision application (LEPA) irrigation methods on linear move sprinkler systems.  Both methods were installed on one machine to cover the same areas whereas the second system varies application depths.  The irrigation method alternates or applied depths can change depending on irrigation treatment for each 50 ft plot width the machines travel down the field.  Electric over air-activated control valves are installed on each gooseneck for each system. The PLC controls allow the variable treatments to be used depending on location which is provided by a low cost WAAS enabled GPS system. Pneumatic cylinders lift the LEPA heads above the MESA heads when the MESA is operating over a given plot width and length. Download as a PDF (PDF; 572 KB).


 

Strip Tillage on Sugar Beets - Status Report (2004-2008)

Abstract: A project to evaluate new technologies for strip tillage of small seeded crops  was initiated in fall 2003 near Sidney, Montana for sprinkler irrigated sugarbeet Beta vulgaris L.)to be grown in 2004. Treatments were compared to conventional grower practices in fifty-six 15 m by 25 m (48 ft by 80 ft) side-by-side plots. Both treatments were flat planted with no ridges or beds. All tillage and fertilization was done in the fall after removal of a malt barley crop. Thirty centimeter (12 inch) wide strips were tilled directly into the straw residues about 20 cm (8 inches) deep using straight and paired fluted coulters and a modified parabolic ripping shank followed by a crows-foot packer wheel. Toothed-wheel row cleaners are in front of the straight coulter to move loose residue to the side. At the same time, dry fertilizer was shanked (banded) in about 5 cm (2 in.) below and to the side of the future seed placement. Beets were planted about 2.5 cm (1 in.) deep on 60 cm (24 in.) rows in the spring. Toothed-wheel row cleaners are also in front of each row on the planter to move any residue displaced by winter storms. Operation of the strip tiller required about 25 tractor horsepower per row, but substantial fuel savings are realized with this system by greatly reducing the number of tractor field passes. In 2004, 2006 and 2007 there were no significant differences in yields or sugar production between the two tillage treatments; however, in 2005 the strip tilled plots produced about 17% greater yields (tonnage and sugar). This benefit was primarily due to the standing straw stubble in the strip tilled plots that protected sugarbeet seedlings from blowing soil during a spring wind storm that severely damaged seedlings in the conventionally tilled plots where there was no surface crop residue. Banding fertilizer is highly recommended to increase fertilizer use efficiencies and reduce input costs. RTK-GPS guided steering is recommended when fertilizer is banded into the row. Heavy soils seem to work better when strip tilled in the fall whereas lighter, sandy soils can be strip tilled in the spring and combined with planting into a single pass. Strip tillage must be considered as part of a larger cropping system that affects timing and equipment choices for planting, cultivation, spraying, and harvesting as well as tillage and other practices: it's not just a matter of adding one new piece of equipment.  Download as a PDF (PDF; 1617 KB).