Nebraska Center Pivot Water Conservation Project

Center Pivot Water Conservation Project Logo

The Center Pivot Water Conservation Project helps center pivot irrigation operators reduce water consumption.

  • Irrigators learn to be more efficient in how they use rain and stored soil moisture
  • Irrigators are more efficient in how they use pivots to supplement what Mother Nature provides
  • Irrigators learn to properly manage and maintain pivot systems

...all thanks to the help of the Center Pivot Water Conservation Project.

This all adds up to better use of our water resources and more profit for every acre-foot pumped.

The project is a partnership between the University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension, Valmont Irrigation of Valley, Reinke Manufacturing Co. of Deshler, T-L Irrigation Co. of Hastings, Lindsay Corp. of Lindsay, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

Education is delivered by UNL Extension specialists and educators.

Read a full news release.

Project Description

The Center Pivot Water Conservation Project is a three-year educational project conducted statewide with special emphasis on the Republican River Basin and Platte River Basin upstream of Kearney, Nebr.

Goal: To maximize the benefit of a constrained water supply, and to help center pivot irrigators apply water more efficiently.

Video: Project Overview - Video demonstrates how center pivot manufacturers and state agencies worked together to help pivot irrigators apply water more efficiently. (7 min.)

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Topic Videos:

Center Pivot Management - Learn how to be sure your pivot is operating at maximum efficiency. (20 min.)

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Sprinkler Packages - Video examines how soil type, slope, sprinkler type and sprinkler nozzle location can affect application uniformity, runoff and ultimately yield. (16 min.)

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Crop Water Use -“ Learn about the factors that affect crop water use. (13 min.)

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Limited Irrigation - If you have a limited amount of irrigation water, check out this video for some strategies to get the most return for your water. (14 min.)

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NAWMN - The Nebraska Ag Water Management Network is an educational program to help producers use soil moisture sensors and ET gauges to schedule irrigations. (15 min.)
NAWMN site resources include ETgage® site weekly data, reference ET, instructions, and tools.

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Reducing Pump Costs - Follow a simple procedure to determine if your irrigation pumping plant is operating at rated performance. (13 min.)

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Water Optimizer - An Excel spreadsheet can help you decide how much water to apply and what crops to plant to maximize returns. (13 min.)

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 Consumptive Use -“ Defines consumptive use and the affect of evapotranspiration (ET) and consumptive use on the watershed balance. (20 min.)

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Project Coordinator:

Chuck Burr
Extension Educator
UNL Extension Phelps County
1308 Second Street
Holdrege, NE 68949
(308) 995-4222

cburr1@unl.edu

Tools and Publications

 

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