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SWINE & U, from pg. 11

By TIM KING geting .75 of an inch per acre and it The Land Correspondent rains .30 of an inch, we speed up

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RICE, Minn. — The Schlichting the irrigation system to complete the and Wojtanowicz families operate irrigation cycle — but at a lower rate Prairie Farms and raise more than of .45 of an inch. This ensures we are 6,600 acres of potatoes, edible beans, not starving our crop of water but corn, peas, alfalfa and winter rye near also utilizing the rain water to prehere. All of the crops are raised under vent wasting water.” irrigation because the sandy soils in Regular maintenance of the systhe Little Rock Watershed, near the tems also keep the systems operating Mississippi River, can dry out very properly. rapidly. One of the reasons that each system

Prairie Farms, which has been in receives individual attention is because the family since 1906, has earned a each crop has unique water needs that number of land and water steward- change throughout the season. ship awards over the years — including the National Corn Growers Association’s Good Steward Recognition in 2019. “When deciding when to water crops we look at a few things,” Ringhand said. “We are looking at the crops’ life stage, evapotranspiration, and the

“From 2016 to 2019 our farm was water holding capacity of the soil. recognized on the county, state and That means we are out in the field a national level as an outstanding stew- lot — digging and probing for moisard,” Marlene Schlichting said. “We ture. We have utilized electronic soil appreciate the recognition of our con- moisture probes as well, but have not servation efforts. The farming com- found the right fit for our farm.” munity prides itself on sustaining natural resources, generation after generation, and these awards are an honor we share with all our felof the droplet. Drop tubes allow less air time which also helps reduce evaporation.” Each well on Prairie Farm has its own Minnesota Department of Natural Resources permit. low farmers.” Marlene says that farming on the sandy soils would New technologies to conserve water can be used on all the farms irrigation systems; but to further maxi“Water use for each permit is reported annually to the DNR,” Marlene Schlichting said. be difficult without irrigation. As a consequence, mize water use, each center pivot is managed differ- By using ground water conservatively, Prairie Prairie Farms operates multiple permitted wells which ently, says Ringhand. Farm’s goal is to have sustainable aquifers available provide water for center pivot irrigation systems. “We utilize strategic placement of numerous rain to farmers, and others, in the generations to come.

“Farmers are constantly looking for ways to con- gauges and weather stations to ensure we are not Marlene says the aquifer under the sandy soils serve and minimize inputs, including the use of over watering during or after rain events,” he said. they irrigate recharges every year. Klaphake, agrees. water,” Marlene said. “Changes to technology have “We manage our irrigation systems remotely as well “The aquifers in the Little Rock Creek area in Rice allowed for constant improvements in the efficiency so as to be sure we are catching any problem with the do indicate a high degree of sustainability in that of irrigation systems.” well or irrigation system as it’s watering.” they have not dropped in water level since irrigation

Among the new technologies used by Prairie Farms Using rain water to supplement irrigation is an began in this area.” are low pressure nozzles and variable speed drives. important ground water conservation strategy for Klaphake says that’s the case because annual rain-

“We use low pressure nozzles to achieve the right the irrigation team. fall in the area averages 29 inches. Because the droplet, stream, and spray pattern,“ Matt Ringhand, “When it rains during the irrigation season it’s a sandy soils hold so little water, that generous rainfall a member of the team that keeps the irrigation sys- big deal,” Ringhand said. “With our rain gauges finds its way down to the reservoir that is the aquifer. tems operating efficiently during the growing season, placed around our farm, we make sure we don’t miss Nevertheless, he and Prairie Farm plan on assursaid. “This allows for less evaporation and more uni- any rain events and we utilize rainfall as much as ing that continues into the future by taking every form water delivery to the ground. Variable speed possible when irrigating. For example, if we are tar- measure they can to conserve ground water. v drives allow us to slow the well down and reduce pumping rate when a higher volume is not needed. For example, some irrigation systems run on one well, so if two systems are running and one shuts off, the well can slow down to accommodate the one irrigator operating by itself without pumping needless water.”

“Low pressure nozzles and systems are used to reduce evaporation,” said Randy Klaphake, who irrigates on the on the same watershed. “The special nozzles have the ability to work accurately under lower-than-normal pressures and deliver largerthan-normal droplets — which lose less to evaporation since evaporation only occurs around the edges

Photo submitted Pictured is Jerry Schlichting (far right) who farms with his daughter, Jocelyn Schlichting Hicks (third from left). Together, they partner with additional family members, the Wojtanowicz’s, who operate the Prairie Farm Co. Diane Wojtanowicz (left) is Rick’s aunt, and Anna Bregier (second from left) is Diane’s daughter and Rick’s cousin. Biosecurity is key to controlling disease fight against foreign animals diseases. And running each of these cases, answering the call can help underneath and throughout it all, biosecurity is key. direct the future. On-farm sustainability is a Key to high health status, key to increased producrequest and requirement for many of the pork tion efficiencies which decrease a farm’s environindustry’s customers, and a farmer who can point to mental footprint, and key to survivability of the pig, improvements made over the course of years can the farm and the industry. tell a successful story which appeals to consumers. Diane DeWitte is an Extension Swine Educator Swine health across the country is a number-one with the University of Minnesota based in Mankato. concern, and the US-SHIP program will tie produc- She can be reached at stouf002@umn.edu. v ers and packers to continuous improvement in the

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