irrigation Archives - Page 5 of 7

A coffee planter shows his coffee plantation in a farm in Sao Desiderio, Bahia state, Brazil on March 21. (Photo: Reuters/Roberto Samora)

Coffee may profit more than soy in Brazil’s new farming frontier

By GFM Network News March 27, 2018

Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Brazil | Reuters –– Farmers tending vast, flat soy and cotton fields that spread as far as the eye can see in northeastern Brazil are finding that coffee crops might provide higher profits in the country’s agricultural frontier. More coffee farms are being developed in the western part of Bahia state, which […] Read more

(Lindsay Irrigation video screengrab via YouTube)

General, Machinery

Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate

By Grainews Staff, GFM Network News March 25, 2018

Ontario farmers buying certain types of high-efficiency water pumping systems for irrigation, horticulture or stock watering could now be up for rebates. Hydro One and Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) on Friday announced the AgriPump rebate program, which the two electricity utilities described as the first plan of its kind in the province. For farmer customers […] Read more

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and your crop

Q & A with CPS

By Scott Anderson March 21, 2018

Q: While we have little control over available moisture for crop production, how can it impact the final result? What is meant by the term “Water Use Efficiency (WUE)?” A: When we consider inputs that are essential for crop growth we tend to think of fertility. However, there is one ingredient that every single cropping […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Stubble soil moisture map, November 1, 2017

Les Henry’s annual map of fall soil moisture going into the winter months

By Les Henry January 19, 2018

The November 1, 2016, fall soil moisture map was, in a word, wet. In Manitoba and much of Saskatchewan all soils were at field capacity (holding maximum available water) and many areas were so wet that water tables were near enough to surface to be a factor. When the water table is within about five […] Read more

A young commercial date palm planting in California’s Coachella Valley. (RF Lee photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Crops, Reuters, Weather

California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use

By GFM Network News April 4, 2016

Sacramento | Reuters –– Residents and businesses in drought-stricken California cut back water use by nearly 25 per cent from June 2015 through the end of February 2016 — enough to supply nearly six million people for a year, officials said Monday. The state’s first ever mandatory cutbacks in water use were imposed by Democratic […] Read more

This graphic, from a University of Minnesota Extension Bulletin, shows some common designs for tile drainage.

Columns, Crops

Trying tile drainage on your farm

There's information out there. Do your homework before starting tile drainage

By Les Henry March 11, 2016

I am not an engineer and will not give recipes for pipe size, spacing or equipment. Rather, I’ll look at the principles and steps a farmer should take before investing big bucks in tiles. Tile drainage is not a new technology. Many of the better soils of the world are on flat, low lying, high […] Read more

Tile drainage in progress south of Melfort, October 2014. The water table was high and tiles were running as soon as installed. The drain outlet is Melfort Creek. This project is on the Alan Hurd farm. Mark Gordon of Agri-Trend provided the soil EC mapping of the site and Stu Brandt of NARF (Northeast Agricultural Research Foundation) installed the observation wells and is monitoring the site.

Columns, Crops

Soil salinity: causes, cures, coping

After recent wet years, we’re seeing salinity again. Learn to cure it or cope with it

By Les Henry February 9, 2016

A few years back we predicted that the super wet years would lead to a marked increase in soil salinity. It is now happening. In this piece I am not going to talk about Solonetzic soils or true Alkali (high pH , low salts) soils. I’m talking only about saline soils — soils that have […] Read more

Crops, Winter Wheat

Profiting from winter wheat

When Greg Stamp looks at the numbers  on his farm, winter wheat pencils in well

By Greg Stamp November 25, 2015

With price spreads between feed wheat and milling winter wheat compared to HRSW very narrow this fall, it looks very attractive to grow a winter crop on either irrigation or dry land. Irrigated and dry land winter wheat can yield 20 to 30 per cent more than HRSW. And, if you’re selling into the feed […] Read more

Install the well. This photo shows a well installed with a cap on top — just loose of course. This was a very clean 11 foot hole so I had to set the top with natural clay from auger leavings.

Columns, Crops

DIY: Installing water table wells

With water in the soil, we can survive on little rain. Learn how to measure what you have

By Les Henry November 9, 2015

2015 will go into the books as a very different kind of growing season. In central Saskatchewan we started off with soil completely full of water after a big dump of snow on April 26. My rain gauges showed 2.5 inches of water when it all melted. And then Mother Nature turned of the tap […] Read more

Crops, Features

Rethinking the natural water cycle

The natural systems we rely on and think of as simple are actually very complicated

By Dilia Narduzzi November 9, 2015

Groundbreaking water research out of the University of Saskatchewan has just been published in the international science journal Nature. Researchers Jaivime Evaristo and Dr. Jeffrey McDonnell of from the U. of S. and Scott Jasechko of the University of Calgary have taken a new look at the hydrological cycle, something that’s been pretty well established […] Read more

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

GFM Network News

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

Tag Archives irrigation

Coffee may profit more than soy in Brazil’s new farming frontier

Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate

Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and your crop

Stubble soil moisture map, November 1, 2017

California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use

Trying tile drainage on your farm

Soil salinity: causes, cures, coping

Profiting from winter wheat

DIY: Installing water table wells

Rethinking the natural water cycle

AgCanadaTV

AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for July 11, 2025

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Latest Market News