Region O planning April 2014
Texas Alliance for
Water Conservation
‘Water is Our Future’
Chuck West, Project Administrator
Rick Kellison, Project Director
Producer Board
Management Team
http://TAWC.us
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Source: Texas Water Development Board 2006
Projected Demand
Livestock
Existing supplies
Irrigation
Needs
Mining
Steam-electric
Manufacturing
County-other
Municipal
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Texas Alliance for Water Conservation
Funded by the Texas Water Development Board
Phase 1 – 2005-2013
Phase 2 – 2014-2018
NRCS & ARS
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Region O planning April 2014
Location of Demonstration Sites
Expanded Area
South
Plains
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Location of Demonstration Sites
Expanded Area
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



Demonstrate how to
reduce total water use
Demonstrate how to
enhance profitability
Identify effective crop
and irrigation systems
Impact producer
decision-making
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Region O planning April 2014
Original sites:
Hale and Floyd Counties
19 Producers
4,700 acres
Diverse crops and some cattle
Phase 2 sites:
8 Counties
22 Producers
Over 6,270 acres
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Cotton
Monocultures
Cotton-Cattle
Corn
Cotton
Grass-cattle
Grain Sorghum
Cotton
Specialty Crops
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Year (total acres)
9
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Region O planning April 2014
Sprinkler
Furrow
Sub-surface Drip
Dryland
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
Rainfall

Temperature

Water applied
Netirrigate
PivoTrac

Soil moisture
AquaSpy
Crop Sense
Aqua Check

Production inputs

Plant & animal yields

Economic analysis
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Online tools – TAWCsolutions.org
Resource Allocation Analyzer
Irrigation Scheduler
How to find: http://tawc.us Click on logo
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Region O planning April 2014
•
A preseason planning aid to decide which crops
to grow in which fields according to water
supply and costs
•
Factors in commodity prices and the effects of
water supply on crop yield
•
Generates several options which maximize net
returns/acre
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1800
800
1600
700
1400
600
1200
500
1000
600
400
Maximum Yield
1560 lbs @ 23”
Maximum Profit
1530 lbs @ 19”
800
300
200
400
GR less PC ($/acre)
Lint Yield (lbs per acre)
Profitability Through
Water Allocation
100
200
0
0
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
Irrigation Water Applied (inches/acre)
Yield
Profit
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Resource Allocation Analyzer – Planning ahead
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.72
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Region O planning April 2014
Wind Speed
for Crop ET
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This tool is used to determine:
•
When to apply water
•
How much water to apply
•
Specific management goals
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18
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Region O planning April 2014
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Advanced ET tool
Use of spectral crop
coefficients (Ksp) to
estimate ground cover
and ET for individual
fields. (S. Maas)
• Extend geographic range
of the irrigation scheduler
• Obviate need for nearby
weather station
• Allow greater precision
• Zero cost to producer
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Impact of Technology
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Region O planning April 2014
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• Most influential factor for producer change in production
practices is other farmers.
• New technologies are complex and expensive.
• Crop consultants becoming more important in
understanding new technologies being used.
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Major Accomplishments
• Online decision-support tools
Resource allocation analyzer
Irrigation scheduler
• Best management practices
More efficient equipment
Less evaporative loss
• Field testing of emerging technologies
Soil water sensors, irrigation types
• Economic evaluations
• Outreach and dissemination of results
• Identified barriers to change
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Region O planning April 2014
Phase 2
• Expand producer sites to influence a wider region
• Enhance the online tools for field-specific precision,
additional crop options and wider use outside the High
Plains region.
• Determine regional economic benefits of sustaining longterm aquifer use.
• Demonstrate how TAWC can be a model for use across
Texas and surrounding semi-arid regions.
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