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Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project Digital Newsletter #2
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Project Website News
Our revised project website is now live! We will update this website regularly to share news related to our project's research and outreach. We also plan to use the site to help people find events and other good in information from across the region focused on water conservation and water use efficiency.
We have also taken over maintaining the Agricultural Water Conservation Clearinghouse (AWCC), an online searchable database with more than 9000 entries on water conservation! Special thanks to the Colorado Water Institute for their contribution of financial support that enabled us to modernize the site and improve its maintenance! We are currently re-categorizing content as needed to highlight Ogallala/High Plains related information. We'll be adding new resources including fact sheets, updated information about irrigation scheduling tools and more to this site.
Curious about AWCC? Start your exploration here!
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UCOWR/NIWR Digest
This year’s annual Universities Council on Water Resources/National Institutes on Water Resources meeting, held in Fort Collins June 13-15, featured special sessions on the Ogallala and other aquifers. Many OWCAP collaborators, students and post-docs, along with colleagues from the Ogallala Aquifer Program presented and/or co-authored the following talks:
Calibration and validation of DSSAT-CSM using lysimeter data for estimating daily ET and crop yield in the Texas High Plains by Pradip Adhikari, Post Doctoral Fellow, Oklahoma State University (co-authors: P. Gowda, G. Marek, I. Kisekka, D. Brauer, B. Northup, A.C. Rocateli)
Calibration of CERES-Maize against precision weighing lysimeter data under semi-arid conditions of eastern Colorado by Allan Andales, Associate Professor, Colorado State University (co-authors: M.C. Capurro, G.E.B. Smith, P.H. Gowda, I. Kisekka)
Management strategies for adapting semi-arid corn production to limited irrigation conditions by Allan Andales, Associate Professor, Colorado State University
(co-authors: J.L. Chavez, N.C. Hansen)
Free online irrigation management tools: From universities to producers by Jonathan Aguilar, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University (co-authors: D. Rogers, I. Kisekka, D. Porter, C. Hillyer, A. Andales, D. Rudnick)
An integrated modeling framework for investigating water management practices in the Ogallala Aquifer Region by Ryan Bailey, Assistant Professor, Colorado State University (co-authors: P. Gowda, I. Kisekka, S. Nozari, C. Ray, V. Uddameri, X. Lin, A. Andales, V. Prasad, M. Schipanski, R. Waskom
Ogallala Aquifer depletion: Sustaining the resource by Daniel Devlin, Director, Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment, Kansas State University
The economics of local enhanced management areas in southwest Kansas by Bill Golden, Assistant Research Professor, Kansas State University (co-author: B. Guerrero)
Water quality, quantity, and usefulness of playa systems in the Texas High Plains by Nathan Howell, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, West Texas A&M University (co-authors: E. Butler, B. Guerrero)
Multi-model generation of corn production functions with associated uncertainty in High Plains by Isaya Kisekka, Kansas State University (co-authors: A. Araya, P.V.V. Prasad, P.H. Gowda, A. Andales)
Changes in agricultural-water climate extremes in the Ogallala Aquifer Region by Xiaomao Lin, Assistant Professor, Kansas State University (co-authors: P. Gowda, J. Harrington Jr., I. Ciampitti, R. Aiken, R. Bailey, I. Kisekka, D. Brown)
Effects of irrigation technology and management on WUE and crop yield: A meta-analysis by Donna Mitchell McCallister, Research Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University (co-authors: C. West, A. Cano, D. Rudnick
Geo-spatial analysis of soil water redistribution of different irrigation technologies by Tobias Oker, Graduate Research Assistant, Kansas State University, Southwest Research-Extension Center (co-authors: I. Kisekka, C. Hillyer)
Impacts of the expanding dairy industry on water usage and business composition in the Southern Ogallala Aquifer Region by Rachel Owens, West Texas A&M University (co-authors: B. Guerrero, S. Amosson, L. Almas)
Education and technology transfer in agricultural water management: Effective communication with stakeholders by Dana Porter, Professor, Extension Program Leader and Associate Department Head, Texas A&M University (co-authors: K. Wagner, J. Aguilar, D. Rogers, T. Marek, G. Marek)
Improving Regional Groundwater flow models for the Texas portion of the Ogallala Aquifer by Sreeram Singaraju, Research Associate Engineer, Texas Tech University
(co-authors: V. Uddameri, P. Gowda, R. Bailey)
Assessment of changes in terrestrial water storage using land surface modeling data in the U.S. Great Plains by Yongjun Zhang, PostDoc, Kansas State University (co-authors: X. Lin, P. Gowda, Z. Zambreski, S. Kutikoff)
OWCAP also sponsored a special lunch workshop at this event on Effective Science Communication for early career professionals and students. The workshop, led by John Calderazzo, Emeritus Professor of English at CSU, focused on how storytelling skills can help scientists and teachers better communicate about their work to mainstream audiences, the media, decision makers, and other scientists.
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Kansas’s “Water Technology Farms” in the news!
Earlier this summer, we interviewed OWCAP collaborator Jonathan Aguilar (KSU) with the idea of writing an article about his involvement with Kansas’s Water Technology Farms for this newsletter. It turns out that The Hutchinson News already has the scoop! Click the button below to read their recent article "Water Tech Farms gives irrigators a look at the latest water saving technology."
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Upcoming OWCAP Webinars
Please mark your calendars and join us for two free, public webinars led by OWCAP project team members, hosted by the Climate Learning Network and the ANREP Community Science Initiative:
- Oct. 5 @ 1 pm (MDT), Meagan Schipanski: The Ogallala Water Coordinated Agricultural Project: Optimizing Water Use for Agriculture and Rural Communities (click here to learn more and register)
- Nov. 2 @ 1 pm (MDT), Jonathan Aguilar, Daran Rudnick and Chuck West: Boosting Producer Learning, Exchange and Adoption of Water Use Efficient Technologies: Strategies from the High Plains/Ogallala Region (click here to learn more and register)
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OWCAP at the upcoming Tri-Societies meeting in Tampa, FL, October 22-25
 
Two OWCAP project team members from KSU will receive awards on Oct 24, 2017 at the ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Annual Meeting in annual meeting in Tampa, FL. Alan Schlegel with KSU (pictured above, left) is being recognized for his outstanding achievement in applying research principles to solve practical problems in soil science. Chuck Rice (pictured above, right) is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to soil science on the international scene.
Along with Alan and Chuck, several OWCAP faculty, post-doc and student team members will be presenting at this meeting:
Faculty
Veronica Acosta-Martinez (USDA-ARS) Measuring Multiple Enzyme Activities in One Sample As Soil Health Indicators of Biogeochemical Cycling.
Ryan Bailey (CSU) SWAT-Modflow: Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling Tool for Coupled Land Surface / Groundwater Systems.
Rajan Ghimire (NMSU): (1) Soil C and N Cycling Under Reduced-Tillage and Cover Crops in the Southern High Plains Agroecosystems.
Prasanna Gowda (USDA-ARS): Evapotranspiration in Winter Wheat Under Different Grazing and Tillage Practices in the Southern Great Plains.
Xiaomao Lin (KSU): Uncertainties of Eddy Covariance ET in Bushland, Texas.
Vara Prasad (KSU): Accelerating Increases in Sustainable Agriculture Productivity.
Meagan Schipanski (CSU): Corn Mediation of Cover Crop Litter Decomposition and Nitrogen Cycling.
Alan Schlegel (KSU): Optimizing Land and Water Allocations for Irrigated Corn Production with Declining Well Capacities in Kansas.
Tim Shaver (UNL): Management Zone Based Variable Rate Nitrogen Management for Corn in Semi-Arid Western Nebraska.
Chuck Rice (KSU): Breakthroughs in Beef and Dairy Systems: Implementation of Science.
Daran Rudnick (UNL): Scheduling from Full to Deficit Irrigation and Its Effect on Irrigation Water Use Efficiency.
Postdocs
Yared Assefa (KSU):
Corn Yield-Trends from 1987 through 2015 By Yield Environments.
Sultan Begna (NMSU): Spring Canola Critical Growth Stages for Water Management.
Amanda Cano (TTU & USDA-ARS): A Comparison between Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Profiling Methods As a Soil Health Indicator for Microbial Community Composition.
PhD students
Tsz Him Lo (UNL): Variable Rate Fertigation: Opportunities and Investigations in West Central Nebraska.
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Presentation receives top marks at KSU's Risk and Profit conference
OWCAP collaborator Bill Golden presented a very well-received talk, "A Booming Interest in Groundwater Conservation in Kansas - Why Now?" at KSU's Risk and Profit annual conference Aug 16-17. The conference, hosted by KSU's Department of Agricultural Economics, provides an opportunity for key agricultural decision makers to interact with each other and with faculty on important topics in agriculture.
Rich Llewelyn, who organized the conference, noted: "Bill's talk, which was attended in large part by agricultural lenders, got the second highest marks from conference attendees. Bill's talk was interesting to the ag lenders in the audience because they're in the business of financing things. If producers have to shift their production practices to use less water, this can increase risk. In southwest KS, irrigation remains affordable now, but there's real concern thinking down the road, as some producers move from irrigated towards dry land production."
You can view slides from Bill's presentation by clicking the button below. You can also watch this recording of a similar talk Bill gave earlier this year.
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Recent OWCAP publications
Almas, L., B. Guerrero, D. Lust, H. Fatima, R. Tewari, and R. Taylor. 2017. Extending the Economic Life of the Ogallala Aquifer with Water Conservation Policies in the Texas Panhandle. Journal of Water Resource and Protection 9, 255-270.
Araya, A., I. Kisekka, P.V. Vara Prasad, and P. Gowda. 2017. Evaluating Optimum Limited Irrigation Management Strategies for Corn using Crop Simulation Models. J. Irrig. Drain Eng., 2017, 143(10): 04017041
Araya, A., I. Kisekka, X. Lin, P.V. Vara Prasad, P. H. Gowda, C. Rice, and A. Andales. 2017. Evaluating the Impact of Future Climate Change on Irrigated Corn Production in Kansas. Climate Risk Management.
Baxter, L. L., C. P. West, C. P. Brown, and P. E. Green. 2017. Stocker Beef Production on Low-Water-Input Systems in Response to Legume Inclusion: I. Forage and Animal Responses. Crop Sci. 57:2294-2302.
Brazil, Larry, Neil Grigg, Chris Kummerow and Reagan Waskom. 2017. Water and Climate: Charting the Path to a Sustainable Future. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management Vol. 143, Issue 10 (October 2017)
Kisekka, I., A. Schlegel, L. Ma, P.H. Gowda, and P.V.V. Prasad. 2017. Optimizing preplant irrigation for maize under limited water in the High Plains. Agricultural Water Management 187 (2017) 154-163.
Kisekka, I., T. Oker, G. Nguyen, J. Aguilar and Danny Rogers. 2017. Revisiting Precision Mobile Drip Irrigation under Limited Water. Irrigation Science. pp1-18. Published online 04 Sept 2017.
Pica, Nasim E., Ken Carlson, Jeffrey J. Steiner, Reagan Waskom. 2017. Produced water reuse for irrigation of non-food biofuel crops: Effects on switchgrass and rapeseed germination, physiology and biomass yield. Industrial Crops and Products 100:65-76
Vestal, M., B. Guerrero, B. Golden, and L. Harkey. 2017. The Impact of Discount Rate and Price on Intertemporal Groundwater Models in Southwest Kansas. Journal of Water Resource and Protection 9, 745-759. |
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