Irrigation

Can drain tiles do more than just drainage?

There is about 1000 ft. of drain tile per acre (assuming 40ft lateral spacing). Ever wondered if the miles long tile drains in your fields could do more than just drainage? Most would agree that tile drains do more than just draining the fields. My recent article in Ohio’s Country Journal’s December Issue will “dig deeper” and revisit what all a drainage system can do? If you can think of more than what’s in this article, send us a note!

Drain Tile

Here are some glimpses of what you will get to read in the full article…

Primary functions of modern-day drainage: The main purpose of drainage was to bring historically wet soils under agricultural production, with additional benefits of improved human health due to lesser risks of pests and diseases associated with waterlogged or marsh lands. Surface and tile drainage transformed the swamps of northwest Ohio into some of the best farmland in the state. The primary function of a modern-day drainage system is still the same – to remove excess water from land surface and soil profile to sustain and enhance crop production. In arid climates, drainage is essential for salinity control, especially in irrigated agriculture. A July 1982 Newsletter by Mel Palmer, then OSU Drainage Extension Agricultural Engineer describes “Twenty Benefits of Drainage” (available at https://go.osu.edu/20drainagebenefits). Most of these benefits still hold true 40 years later!

Benefit to crop yield and profitability: Long-term research at the Ohio State University showed that compared to lands with adequate surface drainage, subsurface drainage improvements may increase yields by 25-30 bu/ac for corn and 3-12 bu/ac for soybean. This translates into a payback period of 7 to 8 years based on economic price data in recent years. Now one may think, that’s it! The system paid itself off, and there is no need to think about additional benefits. Well, the same system can bring you some additional benefits. Here is how:

The function of drain tiles changes from one season to another. The drainage system that is intended to “Drain” in spring starts to “De-Rain” your fields in late summer! Could you conserve some of that rainwater and soil moisture for the periods when your crops may suffer a drought stress?

The article further elaborates on the following:

  • Drainage water management and (sub)irrigation can further boost yield and profitability
  • Why haven’t we seen too much irrigation of grain crops in northwest Ohio compared to central and southern Ohio?
  • Conservation drainage for improved water quality

Full article is available at https://ocj.com/2022/12/can-drain-tiles-do-more-than-drainage/ 

First look at Irrigation in Ohio

We have started doing some preliminary trend analysis of changing water requirements for Corn and Soybean in Ohio. Below is a link to my 5-minute rapid talk at the Soil Science Society of America Meeting in Sand Diego, CA. I decided to share this, because it generated a lot of good discussion in my session. Feel free to comment below or contact me.

Growing irrigation demands in Southern Ohio

A Center Pivot System in a field along US-23 near Waverly OH.

Every day, on my way to work, I pass through four Ohio Counties – Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, and Pike. In a stretch of 75 miles, you get to see a variety of crops, soils, and businesses. A majority of farms with grain crops (corn and soybeans), a few with specialty crops (vegetables, blueberries), and the pumpkin farms near Circleville – the city that hosts the annual pumpkin festival.

Most of the specialty crops require irrigation. However, we are seeing more and more overhead systems (center pivots and linear move) being installed in Southern Ohio for corn and soybeans. Irrigation of grain crops hasn’t been a major concern in Ohio until recently. To our surprise, we are seeing some irrigation systems being installed in Northwest Ohio.

Number of farms and irrigated area in Ohio since 1982 to 2012 (Source: Gunn, 2015)

Recently, one of my colleagues, Stephan Gunn looked at the future changes in Irrigation demands in Lower Scioto watershed. The number of farms and area under irrigation have consistently increased over the past few decades in Ohio.

Reported county-level water withdrawal for irrigation in Ohio (Source: USGS, 2010)

The demand for water and energy for irrigation is likely to grow substantially in future due to expansion of irrigated area in Ohio.

I am currently analyzing some historic data to estimate how the irrigation demands have changed in Southern Ohio in the past few decades for grain crops. More details coming soon!