Even with recent rains chipping away at a lingering West Texas drought, area farmers are keeping a close eye on water use. To aid in that effort, a timely program focusing on irrigation efficiency will be in the spotlight at the 13th Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Field Day in Muncy. The free, annual event takes place at the Floyd County Unity Center from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 6) at the rural community some seven miles northwest of Floydada.

"The field day is a great opportunity to learn about new energy and water-saving technologies and hear first-hand from producers, commodity groups and research leaders," said TAWC Project Director Rick Kellison. Producers, irrigation consultants, and researchers will be on-hand to discuss irrigation management techniques and answer any questions they may have, he said.

Among the scheduled discussion topics are:
• Farm Bill update and cotton outlook
• Irrigation timing effects on yield and quality
• New data tools for producers
• Optimizing using precision irrigation technology in West Texas
• Using PET to develop water management strategies for cotton

The keynote speaker for the event is William Brown, dean of Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, who will provide an update on the college's programs.

The TAWC project is a partnership of area producers, data collection technologies, and collaborating partners that includes industries, universities, and government agencies. The project uses on-farm demonstrations of cropping and livestock systems to compare the production practices, technologies, and systems that can maintain individual farm profitability while improving water use efficiency with a goal of extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities.

All production-related decisions are made by the more than 20 producers involved in the project. The project field sites involve more than 6,000 acres in Castro, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Hale, Lamb, Lubbock, Parmer and Swisher counties. These sites represent the range of agricultural practices including monoculture cropping systems; crop rotations; no-till, limited-till and conventional tillage practices; land application of manure; and fully integrated crop and livestock systems.

CONTACT: Rick Kellison, Project Director, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, Texas Tech University at (806) 292-5982 or rick.kellison@ttu.edu

0813NM18 / Editor's Note: For more information on the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Field Day, contact Samantha Borgstedt at (806) 789-4177 or samantha.borgstedt@ttu.edu