200 Bushels On 12 Inches

摘要

This Texas irrigator is making a wide variety of changes in anticipation of future water cuts. A year in which the area is experiencing record drought certainly isn't the time to cut back on H^Hirrigation. But that hasn't stopped Harold Grail from trying to reach his ultimate goal of 200 bushels of corn on 12 inches of irrigation water. With 4,500 to 5,000 acres of continuous corn under nearly 20 center pivots north of Dumas, Texas, even Grail admits it's a lofty goal - especially when current yieldsaverage around 230 bushels per acre on nearly twice as much water. "The 12/200 initiative was started in 2010 by the North Plains Water District," says Grail, who is the junior director of the district. "That came in response to a directive from the state of Texas to predict how much water we would have left in 50 years. Of course, that also set into motion pumping allocations, which have been steadily decreasing every few years.