Crop per Drop Competition is On!
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Business
The race for savings and sustainability is on in Arkansas with Crop per Drop, a first-of-its-kind competition measuring bushels and water use by adding a flow meter and rainfall to yield numbers.
Pared down, the grower with the most yield and least water takes the prize.
Crop per Drop, or the 2018 Arkansas Rice and Row Crop Irrigation Yield Contest, is open to corn, rice and soybean growers. Basic rules: 30 acres of irrigated ground; 3 acres of skip-patterned harvest; and a maximum of one active metered water inlet. Each of the three winners will receive cash and prizes valued at approximately $20,500, provided by the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Promotion Board (ACGSPB), Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, and Ricetec.
Entry deadline is June 1 and costs $100. ( See here for contest rules. ) Regardless of irrigation set-up, a portable flow meter is required to measure water use. (Flow meters are available at Extension offices on a first come, first serve basis.) In addition, adjusted rainfall will be added to water use by a judging panel. Zero-grade rice, which carries a pragmatic advantage, is excluded from the contest.
Winners will have the highest bushel yields per acre inch of water.
All Crop per Drop totals will be kept under wraps and announced at the Arkansas Soil and Water Conference, Jan. 19, 2019. Henry emphasizes the long-term benefits of the new contest: “Even if you don’t win, this is going to challenge what you think about how to irrigate. Use all the tools available and your field may yield the same as the rest of your acreage, but only use half the water.”
Prizes:
- $10,000 seed tote credit for first place winner in rice, sponsored by Ricetec
- $10,000 cash for the first place winner in corn, sponsored by the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Promotion Board
- $10,000 cash for the first place winner in soybeans, sponsored by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board
- $1,333 in additional cash from Irrometer and Delta Plastics for each winner
- $9,152 in products from P&R Surge, DamGates, Mccrometer, and Irrometer.
For more information, see Crop per Drop .
Source: AGPRO
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