Agricultural Irrigation

Agricultural water users can optimize water use efficiency and protect the quality of water resources by applying basic information about irrigation systems, crop water use and management practices.

Tuesday May 20, 2025

Webinar: Optimizing Irrigation and Nutrient Management

center pivot sitting in field (courtesy CropWatch)

How much can irrigation and nitrogen management impact yields? In the 2024 TAPS contest, the difference was 68 bushels — find out why in a new webinar from UNL’s Center for Agricultural Profitability.

Monday May 19, 2025

Groundwater regulation impacts on Nebraska land values

With new regulations being implemented in Nebraska because of falling groundwater levels, you may be wondering how they will impact the value of agricultural lands in those regions. Ag economists from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute analyzed what has happened historically. Their findings: Land values were unaffected by groundwater allocations. Neither allocations or well moratoria had any significant effect on the value of land that had already been developed for irrigation. Well moratoria reduced the value of dryland acres by 9%.

Thursday May 15, 2025

Early Season Irrigation During Drought

In a dry spring like 2025, early irrigation may be needed — but applying too much water too soon risks losing nitrogen and rainfall storage. Learn how soil moisture monitoring and timing can protect yields and inputs.

Wednesday May 14, 2025

Preparing for the 2025 Irrigation Season: Assessing Your System, Scheduling Tools and Soil Moisture Conditions Prior to First Irrigation

With unrelenting drought this growing season, early preparation of irrigation systems and the right scheduling tools could be the difference between high yields and costly water stress.

Thursday May 8, 2025

Ten Ways to Cut Nitrogen Fertilizer Expenses

With urea ammonium nitrate in short supply, Nebraska corn growers must make every pound of nitrogen count — start optimizing your N strategy today with these UNL recommendations and tools.

Friday May 2, 2025

Efficiency’s Role in Irrigation and Nitrogen Use

Advanced tools like soil moisture sensors, variable rate irrigation, and precision nitrogen management are driving gains in input efficiency and on-farm profitability.

Wednesday April 23, 2025

Introducing PLAN: Mobile Irrigation Management App

mobile phone showing app overlay on center pivot photo

Unlock real-time, in-field decision-making with UNL's new PLAN mobile app — bringing irrigation insights, crop water use and weather data straight to your fingertips.

Thursday April 10, 2025

Using Irrigation Scheduling Tools to Save Water Without Sacrificing Yield

irrigation scheduling graphic overlaid on field

Results from a series of UNL field trials in 2024 that compared traditional irrigation practices with data-driven scheduling tools highlight the potential for smarter irrigation to boost sustainability and reduce costs on the farm.

Thursday April 3, 2025

100 years of Nebraska nitrogen

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient but increasingly found in our water. Here is a brief history:

Monday March 31, 2025

DAWN Dashboard: A Decision Support Tool for the Corn Belt

Our Nebraska Digital Ag Survey indicated that digital dashboards have been adopted by three out of 10 farmers. Digital dashboards are considered decision support tools that can guide farmers in the decision-making process in their operations with the goal of increasing efficiency, productivity and sustainability of their farms. Data-driven decisions are a key goal for digital agriculture. In this article, we are highlighting the Dashboard for Agricultural Water and Nutrient Management (DAWN), developed by a team of universities as part of a USDA NIFA grant.

Monday March 31, 2025

Nebraska Mesonet Launches Improved, Real-time Weather Data

A Nebraska Mesonet station stands on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus.

The Nebraska Mesonet, a critical tool for weather monitoring and data collection across the state, has launched a redesigned, user-friendly website offering real-time weather data. The upgrade comes as the mesonet is growing its network of weather monitoring stations across Nebraska to offer more accurate data.

Friday February 28, 2025

Registration Open for 2025 Water for Food Global Conference

How can we ensure everyone has long-term availability of clean water and nutritious food in the face of a changing climate? With a theme of “A Resilient Future: Water and Food for All,” the Water for Food Global Conference tackles this critical question, convening global experts to explore innovative solutions and build a more resilient tomorrow. The conference will be held April 28–May 2, 2025 and is hosted by the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, bringing together leaders working to solve one of the world’s most pressing issues — feeding a growing planet while preserving our precious natural resources.

Wednesday January 29, 2025

Registration open for Nebraska Master Irrigator Design Summits

We are excited to launch Master Irrigator in Nebraska and would like your help to build it! Master Irrigator is a producer-directed comprehensive educational series focused on taking your irrigated acres to the next level. We are hosting a series of Design Summits bringing together farmers, industry, extension, and policy partners. We'll preview and discuss across four key themes:

Wednesday November 27, 2024

Data Shows Limited Economic Impact from Western Bean Cutworm Control in 2024 Sprinkler Corn Competition

During the 2024 growing season, competitors in the sprinkler corn competition were given the opportunity to choose insecticide treatments targeting the western bean cutworm, a moth/caterpillar pest. This decision was based on scouting data gathered by Julie Peterson and her team on July 12, 15 and 19. The scouting report showed that a cumulative 4% of corn plants were infested with either eggs or newly hatched larvae.

Monday August 26, 2024