Overarching Goals of the No Chico Brush Project

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1 Overarching Goals of the No Chico Brush Project Support the reduction of the agricultural supply gap [~90,000 AF/year] and regional supply/demand imbalance while increasing productivity and economic viability; Provide additional environmental benefits (i.e., quantity, quality, habitat, soil health) State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 1

2 Project Objectives Research and demonstration on farms in Gunnison Basin Compare water diversion, depletion and runoff between different irrigation systems and BMPs For example: Side-by-side comparison of flood irrigation with three more efficient irrigation technologies: drip (tape), overhead sprinkler, and big gun sprinklers Compare economics between different irrigation systems For example: Yield differences, field inputs, returns on investment, management costs State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 2

3 NCB System of Projects in 2016 HW Houseweart Furrow and Pivot (grass hay) Hotchkiss, CO HN HN RN HN-B Brent Hines Furrow and Drip (onions) Delta, CO RN Mitch Ryan Pivot (alfalfa) Delta, CO HW TK TK - North Fork Organics Pivot (corn, wheat) Hotchkiss, CO HN-R - Randy Hines Furrow and Linear Move (corn) Delta, CO TR - Trampe Ranch Flood Irrigation (grass/pasture) Gunnison, CO TR MK MK - Meaker Beef Furrow and Big Gun (corn) Montrose, CO State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 3

4 Different sites, locations and crops, but. What are some common threads? Goals: Maximizing the use of time and labor Farming higher profit specialty, niche or commodity crops (e.g., organic, onions, feed their own animals) Utilize agricultural water for higher returns Securing water resources State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 4

5 Project Results State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 5

6 LOMA, COAdvanced Monitoring Station Design Irrometer Base Station Irrometer Sensmit End/Relay Node ($5/month) McCrometer Volumetric Flow Meter with MadgeTech Data Logger on Gated Pipe Solar Panel Water Level Reader 1.5 Neutron Probe Access Tube ~ Groundwater Depth Well ~ 12.0 Irrometer Cellular Gateway ($10/month) Battery and Inverter 6 Soil Temperature Sensor Data Logger and Pressure Transducer Tailwater Ramp Flume with Data Logger and Pressure Transducer Soil Moisture (Tension) Sensors at varying depths State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 6

7 Drip vs Furrow (Delta, CO) yellow onions Carriage Water Excess goes to next user Incoming Carriage Water State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 7

8 SITE #1: Brent Hines Drip-Irrigated Onion Field (Delta, CO) yellow onions Photo Taken: July 5, 2015 Photo Taken: August 9, 2016

9 Furrow vs Drip Yields (Onion) Portion of colossals

10 Furrow vs Onion Irrigation Water Management Brent Hines Furrow and Drip Irrigation Site Data Site Name - Crop Code Year Acres Rainfall Irrigation Return WUE ($/in) Furrow Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 32.1 in/ac $6,609/ac $ Drip Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 19.6 in/ac $7,759/ac $ Furrow Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 43.1 in/ac $6,264/ac $ Drip Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 20.3 in/ac $9,138/ac $ Furrow Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 48.6 in/ac $10,413/ac $ Drip Yellow Onion HN-B in/ac 20.8 in/ac $8,332/ac $400.57

11 Sprinkler vs Furrow (Delta and Hotchkiss, CO) alfalfa and grass hay 11 State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 11

12 SITE #2: Ira Houseweart Hay Fields (Hotchkiss, CO) grass hay State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 12

13 Furrow vs Sprinkler Yields (Grass Hay) T/ac (Furrow) 9/25 Plant Canopy Analysis 6/ T/ ac (Sprinkler) 9/25 Grass Canopy Upper Lower Furrow 34% 46% Sprinkler 64% 60% State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 13

14 Furrow vs Sprinkler Water Management Ira Houseweart Sprinkler Irrigation Site Data Site Name - Crop Code Year Acres Rainfall Irrigation Furrow Hay Grass HW in/ac in/ac Sprinkler Hay Grass HW in/ac 21.3 in/ac Furrow Hay Grass HW in/ac in/ac Sprinkler Hay Grass HW in/ac 14.2 in/ac Randy Hines and Mitch Ryan Sprinkler Irrigation Site Data Site Name - Crop Code Year Acres Rainfall Irrigation Furrow Alfalfa HN-R in/ac 70.8 in/ac Sprinkler Alfalfa RN in/ac 29.8 in/ac

15 Growing Comfort Level with Telemetric Data State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 15

16 SITE #3: Randy Meaker Big-Gun System (Montrose, CO) various crops State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 16 16

17 SITE #3: Randy Meaker Big-Gun System (Montrose, CO) various crops State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 17

18 SITE #3: Randy Meaker Big Gun System (Montrose, CO) - various State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 18

19 Reduced infiltration below root zone has benefits for water quality State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 19

20 Furrow vs Big Gun Irrigation Water Management Randy Meaker Big Gun Irrigation Site Data Site Name - Crop Code Year Acres Rainfall Irrigation Return WUE ($/in) Furrow Spring Barley MK in/ac 60.5 in/ac - $430.95/ac - $7.21/in Big Gun Cover Crop MK in/ac 13.5 in/ac cover crop cover crop Big Gun Corn MK in/ac 21.7 in/ac $340.00/ac $15.67/in State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 20

21 Challenges, Benefits and Trade-offs of Improved Irrigation Systems An improved irrigation system is not panacea. There are certain baked in gains in efficiency but operating these systems still takes stick-to-it iveness State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 21

22 Drip Irrigation Opportunities for alternative and higher profit crops Farming of irregularly shaped fields Subsurface versus Surface Tape Cost of replacing surface tape versus issues of seed germination Industry service is sparse in Western Colorado Current bed width (30 40 ) may not optimize system Equipment modifications or purchases State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 22

23 Sprinkler (Center Pivot and Linear Move) Cover more acres with less management, more flexible Opportunities for automation and telemetry More fully utilize water in water-short situations Keeping up with ET demand vs Running system to slowly Too slow Clay soils bog down wheel tracks; lugging Too fast Plants don t get enough water Relationships between leaf wetness and plant diseases Energy costs State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 23

24 Cover more acres with less management, more flexible Opportunities for automation and telemetry More fully utilize water in water-short situations Farming irregularly shaped fields Losses during heavy winds Energy costs Intense capital investment Sprinkler (Big Gun) State of the River Meeting May 31, 2017 Montrose, CO 24