TWIN
FALLS, Idaho-With water supplies short, University of Idaho Extension has added 11 new publications to its drought-related Web site, www.uidaho.edu/extension/drought.
Howard Neibling, the university's Extension water management engineer, says grain producers can save two irrigations by selecting the right time to end the season's water applications. Making well-informed decisions on when to switch water from grains and alfalfa to sugarbeets and potatoes can also make a pocketbook difference for Idaho's agricultural producers, Neibling says.
"In a year like this, we're looking at short supplies of both surface and groundwater," he says. "Growers are asking for more information on how to maintain production with less water."
In response, Neibling has filled the Web site with additional and updated publications on managing irrigation in potatoes, sugarbeets, wheat, barley and small-acreage property; reducing crop disease potential; selecting and operating irrigation-scheduling tools; interpreting sensor readings; reallocating water from one crop to another, and using the Idaho Department of Water Resources' catch-up/keep-up slide rule.
