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Program aims to give farmers better crops with less water |
PCWA Board of Directors hears an update on a pilot irrigation program to help farmers develop more efficient irrigation schedules. Photo by John McCreadie.
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Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) officials plan to expand a three-year pilot irrigation-management program developed to help area farmers optimize their use of water while increasing crop yields and quality.
“The agency is looking for ways to help growers improve their water-use efficiency,” said John Kingsbury, director of customer services for PCWA, who heads the program. “Similar programs have been in use at large farms throughout the state for some time, but it’s new to Placer County.”
Kingsbury provided an update on the pilot program – which is provided to participating farms at no cost – to PCWA Board of Directors during its regular meeting March 6.
While the program emphasizes water efficiency, the 10 farms
participating in the trial since 2006 are reaping additional benefits,
including increases in crop production and overall crop quality, and
reductions in water pumping costs and fertilizer use.
“It brings a whole lot of science to farming,” said Ron Morse, owner of the Secret Ravine Vineyard and Winery in Loomis and one of the first farmers to join the test program. “It allows us to add just the right amount of saturation [to the soil] to promote vigor without stressing the plants.”
With help from consultant Jim Brockmeyer of JVB Consulting, soil moisture probes are used at selected commercial irrigation sites throughout the county, including several fruit orchards. Readings from the probes, combined with computerized analysis and planning, allow farmers to develop reliable irrigation schedules that can be adjusted weekly.
With less watering, the program also reduces run-off into area waterways and streams, said Kingsbury, helping to reduce fertilizer and pesticide runoff as well.
Kingsbury said the agency plans to expand the pilot program by adding another 10 farms later this year. He expects PCWA will need about five years of data before evaluating the overall effectiveness of the program – which has been meeting its objectives to date – to determine whether to implement it on a permanent basis.
In other business:
– PCWA directors approved a notice of completion for the American River Pump Station, which restores a key link in the water delivery system that was removed 30 years ago as part of the ill-fated Auburn Dam project. The pump station has been undergoing tests for the past several months and will go into full operation in spring, according to the agency.
– The agency’s director of field services, Mike Nichol, said he expects more than 14,000 acre-feet of irrigation water to be available this year to commercial growers in Zone 5, which is the western region of Placer County.
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