Australia Mandates Flow Meter Standards

In December of 2009, the Council of Australian Governments approved compliance measures for non-urban flow meters. These regulations will directly affect agricultural irrigation in Australia. The National Water Initiative structured the new regulations to support a uniform platform for metering water in Australia. The new non-urban metering requirements are intended to improve accuracy and create a stable market environment for water trading. The regulations will give irrigators confidence in the accuracy of all flow meters. Listed below are the non-urban water metering policy highlights:

• that all non-urban meters shall comply with the national metering standards by 1 July 2020
• any meter installed after 30 June 2010 must comply with the national metering standards
• any meter installed  prior to 1 July 2010 shall be replaced with a compliant meter by 1 July 2020. Replacement shall be undertaken at the earliest opportunity, such as when major maintenance is required on the non-compliant meter
• maximum permissible limits of  error of ±5 per cent

In addition, the nation’s meters are required to include telemetry capabilities. In certain regions of the country, telemetry will be required. Australia is confident that accurate water usage data is the only way to create a properly functioning market for water.

At Net Irrigate we commend Australia’s efforts to create consistency in the nation’s water data. We have witnessed firsthand with our customers how water conservation can occur with accurate water usage data. In the future, as policy makers, business leaders, and irrigators struggle with the rising issue of water scarcity, Australia will provide worldwide leadership in water conservation.

More info at: http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/agriculture/ris-metering-non-urban.html

Flow Meters Increase 76%

Water conservation and best irrigation practices begin with obtaining accurate water usage data. Flow meters provide irrigators and regulators with valuable information that improve irrigation practices.  However, manually checking each meter can be expensive, time consuming, and sometimes not feasible.  Manually checking meters also slows down the rate of data collection which ultimately increases the amount of time it takes for the irrigator to make proper adjustments.  In order for flow meters to reach their maximum potential, they must be deployed with a telemetry device that gives the irrigator near real-time water usage data.  According to the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey, in 2008 the number of flow meters increased 76% .  While we applaud this growth, we suspect that only a fraction of these meters have a scalable telemetry solution in place to accurately analyze the data.  Without such, flow meters are merely a political stunt to make it look like something is actually being done about water conservation.  In areas where water conservation is of great concern, flow meters are increasing most rapidly.  We certainly hope the data is being put to good use such that the economic output of such regions is preserved.

 

Indiana Irrigation Investment

Indiana farms are increasing their capital investments in agricultural irrigation. The state’s irrigators are investing more in irrigation equipment and machinery than ever before.   In 2008, the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey reported that Indiana irrigators on average spent $52,744.00 on irrigation equipment.  The average expenditures have dramatically increased since 2003 when irrigators on average spent $12,397.00. To add even more significance to this increase in irrigation investment in Indiana, the state leads the entire Midwest with the highest per farm dollars spent on irrigation equipment and machinery.

In 2008, irrigators in the United States reported that on average 24% of irrigation equipment purchases were allocated for expansion.  Indiana irrigators reported that 40% of irrigation equipment purchases focused on expansion.  Irrigators in the state of Indiana are channeling their irrigation investments into expanding their current operations.

A large number of factors are contributing to Indiana’s increased irrigation investment . One reason is because the cost of an irrigated acre remains lower than the national average. For example, Indiana’s contract labor costs per irrigated acre are approximately $3.00. The national average for contract labor per irrigated acre is over $18.00. The cost of using ground water is also less. An irrigated acre using electricity to pump groundwater in Indiana costs $18.98. The national average is nearly $40.00. Similarly, an irrigated acre using diesel to pump groundwater in Indiana cost $10.91, while the national average is just over $25.00.  Spurred by lower than average pumping and labor costs, Indiana irrigators are chasing higher yields by increasing irrigation investment.

Technology Managed Irrigation

Water management and conservation is on the forefront of many minds when evaluating agricultural irrigation. Groundwater districts and irrigators alike are striving to improve the way irrigation is controlled and monitored. The USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation survey provides data proving that technology’s role in irrigation water management is steadily increasing.  The number of irrigated acres managed by computers, control panels, and software has increased 62% since 2003.

The total number of farms who had technology expenditures pertaining to water management, increased nearly fifty percent. While intuitively, total expenses on technology increased from 14.3 million in 2003 to 45.2 million dollars in 2008. Texas appears to currently be leading the technology race with 911,977 thousand technology managed acres.

The upward trend in technology managed irrigation acres, suggests that farmers understand the current and future need for proper control and monitoring of their water usage. Irrigators realize that as water conservation efforts continue, the gap between technolgy and irrigation will decline.

Texas Emerges as EQIP Farm Leader

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) began offering financial and technical assistance to improve agricultural practices in 1998.  The EQIP program cost shares equipment and management practices that minimize operational and environmental waste.  The program pays up to 75 percent of a farmer’s incurred and forgone expenses. According to the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey, Texas with a total of 524, leads the United States with the largest amount of EQIP farms.

 Data from the USDA’s EQIP website, confirms a strong upward trend in EQIP dollars spent on agricultural irrigation management in the state of Texas.  On average, since 2001 the total amount of EQIP dollars spent in the state has over doubled since each year. To date, over 23 million EQIP dollars have been spent on improving Texas irrigation practices.

Midwest States Increase Irrigation

Many of the United States regions are well established in their irrigation practices. These regions include areas where feasible agriculture practices require irrigation, however new regions of the United States are steadily increasing in their agricultural irrigation.  Data from the 2008 USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation survey confirms this upward trend. Since 1992, many Midwestern states have witnessed a steady increase in the amount of irrigated acres.

Agricultural irrigation in the Midwest is increasing due to high water availability, rising commodity prices and increased yields from irrigated crops. According to the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation survey, in the state of Indiana, an acre of irrigated corn for grain produces on average 176 bushels per acre. An acre of non-irrigated corn produces an average of 159 bushels per acre. Irrigated corn produces nearly a 10% higher yield.

The continual rise in Midwest irrigation is being fueled by water availability and increased yields from irrigated crops.  In addition, past data suggests that as the United States economy rises, commodity speculation rises simultaneously. An increase in commodity speculation will boost commodity prices across the board, therefore providing farmers with more incentives to irrigate. In the future, as Midwest irrigation continues to grow, water availability, higher yields from irrigated crops and commodity speculation will continue to drive agricultural irrigation growth in the Midwest.

Energy Expenses for Irrigation Rise 54%

The 2008 USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey confirms what irrigators probably all new−energy expenses associated with irrigation are rising.  But if you ask an irrigator, “By how much?,” you’ll get numbers all over the board.  The variability comes from the different sources of energy used in agricultural irrigation.  But on average, energy costs per irrigated acre (from groundwater sources) have risen 54% to just over $60 per acre since 2003.

Intuitively, based on the spikes in fuel prices over the past four years, one can assume the nation’s 115,000 Diesel powered irrigation pumps have significantly contributed to the 54% increase.  But as the chart shows below, other energy sources have not been kind either.

In addition to the rising commodity prices of energy, increased depth to water and additional pumps being added to serve a single irrigation system are helping drive up costs.  In order to help control costs, every irrigated hour is going to count in the future.  Take steps to conserve energy today.