Irrigating Potato's Without Wasting A Drop

Irrigating Potato's Without Wasting A Drop

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
I'm Susan Allen with Washington Ag Today. With temperatures heading up into the 90's in many parts of the state this week, you will see field irrigation going full force, With today's high-tech irrigation technology water is precisely calibrated so that not a drop is wasted. Rex Calloway, a Quincy area potato grower whose family has farmed for 5 decades spoke on behalf of Washington Potatoes regarding technology recently and explained his system that replaced wheel lines and surface irrigation.

Calloway: "What the system provides for us now is an even distribution of water. The delivery system brings the water down closer to the crop so we are not exposed to wind movement or evaporation or drift. We are getting that water right where we need it, we are getting the fertility right where we need it on that crop. Also on every sprinkler there is a regulator so the pressure is regulated at every distribution point. That process has allowed for us to really conserve water, it allows for that water and that soil to actually move and penetrate into the ground instead of sitting on top of the ground and potentially run off.

He has memories of his dad using four of five feet of water to water a particular farm, and on that same acreage now with precision irrigation he is using half that amount. Once again whether it's cattle, wheat, tree fruit, berries, grapes, hay..... our Washington farmers are masters at sustainability, using less resources to create a better crop and commodities.

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