Sufficient water and irrigation facility

Drought periods remind all irrigators, and those wishing they had irrigation, the importance of an adequate and dependable irrigation water supply. Most irrigation systems in Michigan and Indiana are designed to provide at least 1 inch of water per four days of crop water use or roughly 5 gpm pumping capacity per irrigated acre. As an example, a 500-gpm water supply would be needed to irrigate 100 acres.

In many situations, unless the producer starts irrigating early to bank soil water, 5 gpm per irrigated acres pumping continuously will not be sufficient to avoid drought stress over long periods, 15-25 days, depending on soil type. Shut downs from power brown-outs or breakdowns make having additional capacity an advantage. Many irrigators are designing for or increasing their water capacity to 1 inch every three days (7 gpm per acre irrigated). This allows six days a week pumping to meet peak summer demands and capacity to catch up if they have irrigation down time.

Availability of water in crucial weeks in late July and early August dictates the economic feasibility of irrigation investments. Most specialty crop contracts require the irrigation capacity to match crop water use for even an extended drought. The high returns given to irrigated land are tightly correlated to the ability to produce in the drought year when demand for the crops will be their highest.