PROGRAM INFORMATION

EQIP, WHIP, WRP, CREP, CONTINUOUS CRP and SAFE:  Applications for funding assistance or annual payments can be taken at your local USDA Service Center.

NSWCP: New money comes July 1.  Applications for cost-share assistance can be taken anytime at your local NRCS office.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY GRANT: Applications for cost-share assistance can be submitted by June 16 for sub-surface drip systems, pivots, underground pipe, well upgrades, motors, bridges, etc.  Contact Kelley Kinney with Rural Development at 308-237-3118, ext. 4.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

May 26: Memorial Day (government offices closed)
June 2: CNPPID Board of Directors meeting, 9:00 AM
June 10: TBNRD Board of Directors meeting, 7:30 PM
June 17-19: Points North No-Till Bus Tour. Register by May 30. For more information, call (888) 330-5142 or visit www.notill.org.
June 24: CNPPID's four 2-week delivery schedule begins

Water Losses from Gates and Gaskets!

How much water are you losing from leaky gates and gaskets?  You might be surprised.  A drip here and a drop there can add up to waste, wasted dollars in fuel expenses, wasted fertilizer due to nitrogen leaching, wasted yields due to overirrigation, wasted time getting across the field due to fewer gates open and wasting your allocation away if you have allocated water.

Since 1992, an ultrasonic flow meter has been used to measure leaky gates and gaskets across the Tri-Basin NRD.  Some measurements showed very little in losses and some producers were very surprised at the amount of water they were losing.  All losses, small or large, are combined in the following summary:

It might be well worth the time and effort to replace those leaky gates and gaskets.  If you would like to have an ultrasonic flow meter measurement to know how your gates and gaskets are doing, contact Curtis Scheele at 308-995-6121, ext. 3.

ACROSS THE TRI-BASIN NRD

Irrigation Records to be Kept in 2008

I would like to remind everyone about irrigation water management recordkeeping for crop year 2008.  This applies to everyone who has received EQIP and NSWCP cost-share assistance for installing irrigation practices.  These records are to be kept on the NE-ENG-80 forms on the fields where irrigation practices were installed.  This form is available from your local NRCS office.  Irrigation records to be kept are soil moisture readings, crop ET, applied water amounts, flow meter readings and rainfall during the cropping season.  Crop consultants forms or any other forms are acceptable provided the same information is recorded. 

For NSWCP, the NE-ENG-80 forms were previously sent in a packet to the owners with their cost-share approval letters.

For EQIP, the NE-ENG-80 forms will be mailed to the producers in the near future.

Irrigation water management can help you manage your irrigation scheduling during the growing season.  The 2008 season is starting off with a full soil moisture profile.  Monitoring the soil moisture to determine when that first irrigation will be could play a large role this year in how much water is applied to the crop.

If you have any questions about irrigation water management or need assistance getting started, call Curtis Scheele at 308-995-6121, ext. 3.

Stage of Growth:

Corn (Planted to 3-leaf stage): The growing point is below the soil surface at the 3-leaf stage.

Soybeans (Not Planted to cotyledon stage): Loss of one cotyledon has little effect on yield while loss of both can reduce yields by; 8 to 9%.

Irrigation:

In the last few days, some pivots have been applying 0.25 to 0.50 inch of water to soften crusts.

The Tri-Basin NRD, CNPPID and Neb. Game and Parks Commission approved an agreement to divert Platte River flows to Elwood Reservoir when flows exceed the target flows set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The NRD and NGPC will compensate CNPPID $8.80 per acre-foot to offset lost hydropower revenues.  Pumping costs will also be reimbursed if pumping is needed.  Before diverting any excess water to Elwood Reservoir, it must still be permitted by parties involved with Platte River flows.  The agreement is valid only in 2008.

Lake McConaughy is at 43.8% capacity versus 38.7% a year ago. Inflows to Lake McConaughy are 535 cfs compared with 359 cfs a year ago.  Flows in the South Platte River at North Platte are 161 cfs compared with 306 a year ago.  You can track these flows on Central's web site.

Rainfall:
The following rainfall amounts (inches) come from NeRAIN which can be found at NeRAIN.

Nebraska Water Management Demonstration Network (NAWMDN) Crop ET Information
Additional atmometer sites and Weather Station Data can be found on CNPPID's website

Inches of Crop Water Use (ET) = Evaporation x Kc

Crop Coefficients (Kc)

Additional ET Information Sites:

KRVN radio broadcasts
KRVN.com
Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District
Water Use Hotline: 1-800-993-2507

Check out these web sites:

"Why does 'slow down' and 'slow up' mean the same thing?" - Anonymous

If you would like to receive this newsletter via e-mail, or have any questions, comments or ideas, feel free to contact Curtis Scheele at the NRCS office in Holdrege or your local NRCS office at the addresses or phone numbers listed below.

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