Tag: colorado

Colorado Agriculture Energy Efficiency Program

Colorado Agriculture Energy Efficiency Program

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Colorado’s agricultural industry faces direct energy expenses of more than $400 million annual that account for 7% of the industry’s overall expenses. Now there is a new statewide dairy and irrigation energy efficiency program available to ag producers.

The new initiative, geared toward dairies and irrigators, will provide energy services to a minimum of 80 agricultural producers annually for three years. Program participants will receive:

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Colorado Farmers Use Less Water, Improve Quality with Drip Irrigation

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The future of agriculture across the Great Plains hinges on water. Without it, nothing can grow.

Climate models and population growth paint a pretty bleak picture for water availability a few decades from now. If farmers want to stay in business, they have to figure out how to do more with less. Enter: super efficient drip irrigation systems.

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Colorado Farmers Try Subsurface Drip Irrigation

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In the back of almost every farm truck you are likely to find a pair of muddy irrigating boots. Stepping in the mud to shovel and straighten creases is common in the area, so getting muddy boots is just part of the job for most farmers. But one type of irrigation has the potential to get rid of some of the muck.

Subsurface drip (SDI) is a low-pressure, high-efficiency irrigation system that uses buried drip tubes or drip tape, essentially plastic tubing with holes in it, to meet crop water needs. This type of irrigation effectively waters the crops but keeps the surface dry. “The thing about this is that there is no run-off. If we do it correctly, there is no deep percolation. So essentially everything goes to the crop. So it’s very, very efficient,” said Calvin Pearson, research agronomist at the Colorado State University Fruita Agricultural Experiment Station.

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