Don’t lose out on free nitrogen from irrigation water

$9000

$8600

2-Nelson P200 Big Guns on carts for 6” ringlock pipe. Includes cart $1500 ea. Approximately 1/3 mile A&M 6” ringlock Series 55 aluminum pipe. 6” x 30-ft. pipe. As is, pipe stacked, ready to go $135 ea pipe Phone (406) 600-4146, Bozeman, Montana

Scott Schmiedeke (406) 240-2572

Victor, MT

Henry Kallis (605) 639-1904

Spearfish, SD

See us on the web: www.tte-inc.com

2014 Bobcat E35, 2940 +/- hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, coupler, hydraulic thumb, 24” bucket, leveling blade, 2 speed travel, has been through the shop, all repairs done, fresh service. Located in Victor, MT. $43,900

2014 Kubota KX080 excavator, 1985 hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, control pattern changer, auxiliary hydraulics, swing boom, angle blade, manual quick coupler, hydraulic thumb, 24” bucket, nice rubber tracks, weighs 19,140 lbs, very nice condition, just serviced. Located in Spearfish, SD. $74,900

2015 Kubota SVL90-2 track, 2850+- hours, enclosed cab with heat & AC, AM/FM radio, hydraulic coupler, auxiliary hydraulics, 84” bucket, 92 hp, 11,300 operating weight, has been through the shop all repairs have been done, just serviced, excellent condition. Located in Victor, MT. $58,900

2015 Case 621F, 5125 hours, EROPS with heat and AC, ride control, reversing fan, JRB hydraulic coupler, 3CY bucket, very nice radial tires, has been through our shop, just serviced, the loader is in excellent condition. Located in Spearfish, SD

1998 Cat TH183, enclosed cab with heat, unknown hours, 3-way steering, frame tilt, hydraulic fork lift, joy stick controls, nice air filled tires, 48” forks, 48” carriage, 8000 lb. lift, 42-ft. reach, serviced and jos site ready. Located in Spearfish, SD

2013 Case 621F, 4655 hours, enclosed cab with heat and AC, ride control, reversing fan, JRB hydraulic coupler, auxiliary hydraulics, 3 CY bucket, very nice radial tires, has been through our shop, all repairs have been done, just serviced, the loader is in excellent condition and job site ready. Located in Spearfish, SD. $97,500

2007 Deere 650J LT 4250 hours, EROPS with heat and air conditioning, cloth air ride seat, 6 way PAT 105” blade, 3 shank ripper, sweeps, rear window/AC guarding, undercarriage approximately 65%, has been through the shop and all repairs have been done, just serviced. Located in Spearfish, SD. $89,500

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In many locations, irrigation water can provide significant, valuable in-season fertilizer.

Crystal Powers - Research and Extension Communication Specialist, Nebraska Water Center | Steve Melvin - Extension Educator Irrigated Cropping Systems | Saleh Taghvaeian - Biological Systems Engineering Associate Professor readily available to crops and is a free source of fertilizer.

The amount of nitrogen depends on the concentration of nitrate and amount irrigated.

Nitrogen continues to be one of the highest cropping system input expenses with irrigated corn. In many parts of Nebraska, there is a significant amount of nitrogen available in groundwater as nitrate. When applied through irrigation, this nitrate is

How Much Nitrogen is in My Irrigation Water?

The amount of nitrate in water is measured as parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L), these are the same measure for nitrate. Each ppm will add 0.227 pounds of nitrogen per acre with each inch of irrigation water applied. Table 1 below shows the total pounds per acre of applied nitrogen:

Table 1. Total pounds per acre of applied nitrogen.

To find out how much nitrate-nitrogen is in your irrigation water, we recommend that you test each well every few years. Also check with your local NRD for testing requirements in water quality phase areas. Nitrate levels can vary significantly from well-to-well and nitrate levels are changing over time across much of the state. (Note: some water test results are reported as nitrate (NO-3), others are reported as nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). The calculations in this article are based on nitrate-nitrogen. Nitrate-nitrogen = 0.226 x nitrate).

When Will Fertilizer from Irrigation Water Be Available?

The timing of irrigation application in relation to the period of rapid nitrogen uptake by the crop affects the value of the nitrogen in the water to that year’s crop. The most rapid N uptake extends from about V6 to after pollination, but N is taken up all season. Nitrogen in irrigation water applied during the rapid uptake period is just as useful to the crop as the same amount of nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen in water applied late in the growing season — after the crop has already taken up most of its nitrogen needs — is of limited value for this year’s crop.

Care must be taken to reduce drainage below the root zone since nitrogen will leach with water from rain or irrigation. So, since rain is unpredictable, irrigation scheduling should leave as much rain storage room in the soil as is practical while optimizing yields.

Calculating Your Field’s Irrigation Water Nitrogen Credit

Due to the uncertainty of precipitation during the growing season, we suggest that the nitrogen contained in 80% of the fiveyear average irrigation depth be used when calculating the N contribution by irrigation water. If your field site is within an NRD with an annual water allocation, use the annual allocation in place of the five-year average. The example shows how to calculate the nitrogen provided by irrigation water.

Example Irrigation water contains 15 ppm nitratenitrogen (NO3-N). The five-year average irrigation water application depth is 10 inches per year. Using 80% of the five-year average, how much crop available N is in the irrigation water?

80% x (NO3-N ppm) x (0.2267) x (in. of irrigation) = pounds of nitrogen/acre

0.8 x 15 ppm x 0.227 x 10 in. = 34 lb of nitrogen/acre added through irrigation

Adjusting In-season

Predicting how much nitrogen and irrigation water will be needed for a given field this coming summer in January or February is difficult. However, good in-season techniques are now available to help determine the optimal rates of irrigation and nitrogen to produce optimum yields. Center pivot and SDI irrigation systems provide an easy method to make in-season application. We recommend applying a lower rate of nitrogen in the spring, followed by monitoring the crop to see if additional nitrogen is needed.

Global Garbage Man Day

Give a big thanks to the men and women who keep your community sanitary and hygienic on Garbage Man Day, or Waste & Recycling Workers Week.

Just imagine what the world would be like if you had to live without the services of your local, friendly garbage professional. There would be mountains of trash piled up outside every home and business. And it would stink!

Fortunately, there is a group of tenacious and dedicated people out there who periodically collect and dispose of your refuse.

Global Garbage Man Day, therefore, is a chance for everyone to stop whatever they are doing and spend a little time appreciating the hard work of these diligent souls.