Looking for Funding Assistance for Irrigation Equipment?

After water efficiency, the most common question about new irrigation technology is related to cost and financing. Marcos Perez, an engineer with the Natural Resources ConservationService (NRCS), recently discussed finances opportunities for center pivot irrigation equipment through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

“To qualify for financing, an applicant must be engaged in agricultural production, forestry management, or have an interest in the associated operation,” Perez said. “In addition toapplicant eligibility, the land represented in the application must be agricultural, non-industrial private forestland, or other land on which agricultural products, livestock, or forest-related products are produced.”

Available EQIP financing varies by year. In 2013, a center pivot longer than 600 feet could have been financed at $35.31 per linear foot, while a span less than 600 feet would have been financed at $29.47 per linear foot.

Local NRCS offices  are now accepting applications for 2014 EQIP funding. 

While funding is not guaranteed, applications are prioritized by the value and environmental benefit expected from the improvement, Perez says. For example, applicants looking to improve or even install center pivot irrigation equipment might want to highlight how the purchase would improve irrigation water management, such as reducing water use by transitioning from a flood to center pivot irrigation operation.

To learn more about EQUIP, check out these resources:

• NRCS offers Five Steps to Assistance, which includes a video offering step-by-step guidance.
• The national EQIP site provides an outline of information and state application information.
• And, of course, you can always contact Valley Irrigation or your local Valley dealer for more information and assistance.

A portion of this content was published in PivotPoint - The California Grower, 2013

Don’t Miss the Feb. 10 Deadline | by Shannon Peterson

If you read other ag blogs or visit other agriculture websites, you’ve probably heard this message already. Even so, it merits repeating.

You recently received the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey in the mail. Please fill it out and return it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) by Feb. 10.

Why?

Well, first and foremost, you are required by law to respond.

But, additionally, the timely, accurate, and useful statistics from this survey are critically important to growers, the irrigation industry, farm organizations, funding sources, and others involved in agriculture.

Here at Valley_®, we use the survey data to explain irrigation efficiencies. We use it to demonstrate the commitment of irrigators to the conservation of our most valuable resource. We use it to defend irrigation practices, farmers, and our products. And we use it to refute false statements that appear in media coverage and elsewhere.

The survey results also aid in the development of improved technology, better equipment, and more efficient water-use practices.

According to the NASS:

• This survey provides the only comprehensive information on irrigation activities and water use across American farms, ranches, and horticultural operations.
• It provides information on water sources and amount of water used, acres irrigated by type of system, irrigation and yield by crop, and system investments and energy costs.
• Approximately 35,000 producers across the United States will participate in the survey.
• The results help develop and promote efficient irrigation practices and ensure long-term sustainability of water resources.
• Your responses will not be shared with anyone, including other government agencies, under threat of subpoena.

Your voice matters and your participation is vitally important.

So, fill it out and send it in.

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Shannon Peterson Marketing Content Editor Shannon joined Valley Irrigation in 2013. She enjoys traveling with her family, particularly to national parks, and she occasionally writes about her travels for travel magazines. Shannon also likes reading, trying new restaurants, seeing movies, and watching Husker football and Creighton basketball. However, she and her husband spend most of their free time chauffeuring their teenage son to activities and chasing their baby daughter.

Irrigating to Conserve the World's Water | by Brooke Stover

We all know that the world’s water resources are being depleted. While 70 percent of the world’s surface is covered in water, only .05 percent of it is accessible freshwater that we can use (much of the remaining fresh water is frozen in icecaps or is inaccessible groundwater). Of that .05 percent of freshwater, 70 percent is used for agricultural withdrawals. (This information is illustrated in the image below.)

This means that 70 percent of the water is currently being used to feed our ever-increasing population. The global population increases by 8,000 people every hour. Without irrigation, growers would be unable to produce higher yields on fewer acres, so it is important that we invest in ways to feed the growing population without completely depleting the world’s water resources.

How can we do this? We can invest in more efficient means of irrigation practices. Yields can be increased while using less water, the water just needs to be applied more effectively. Center pivot irrigation can reach efficiencies of 98 percent, while traditional flood irrigation is only about 40-50 percent efficient.

To see how center pivot irrigation matches up to less efficient methods of irrigation, visit this Website.

At Valley_®, our goals are to improve irrigation practices throughout the world and to help feed the growing population while developing new and improved technologies that apply water more efficiently.

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Brooke Stover Global Marketing Coordinator Brooke has been with the Valley Irrigation Global Marketing department since 2011. She spends her free time taking pottery classes; though she thoroughly enjoys this, most of her stuff is a bit lopsided. Brooke also loves to read and listen to Frank Sinatra. She enjoys traveling and has been to 11 countries with the goal to make it to six more in the next six years!