Hopefully producers won’t have to irrigate as much this year as they did in 2012, but I’d like you to consider joining a program that can not only improve your irrigation efficiency, but reduce nutrient loss and save you money!  I’ve been in Extension for nearly eight years and a program I’ve been involved with that has been a very rewarding program and made a positive impact for many is the Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Network, or NAWMN. My colleague, Gary Zoubek tracks the evaluation results and shared that in 2005 only a few producers in the Upper Big Blue NRD, (shortly followed by the Little Blue NRD) were participating, but this program has now grown to over 800 producers across the state and I’m sure we’ll add another 100 or 200 more this season!

A couple of the tools we use are ETgages® or Atmometers which mimic crop…