Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

Impact Report

For plan Crop Production Improvement and Water Conservation in Eastern New Mexico
Date January 3, 2013, 4:55 pm
For Objective Medium-term Show medium-term objectives
Impact Report Educational programs on various subjects related to irrigated and dryland field crops and weed management were presented at one large, regional, producer conference and one field day event on January 26-27, 2012, and August 3, 2012. The following events are included in this assessment: Southwest Hay and Forage Conference, Ruidoso, NM - 175 attendees. Annual Field Day, Clovis, NM - 104 attendees. Surveys and follow up conversations indicated that over 90% of attendees had significantly increased in knowledge and that the programs were useful and relevant to their operations. Less than 15% indicated that they had only 'some' increase in knowledge. Almost all attendees indicated that they had an improved level of understanding with respect to water and resource conservation and crop management as related to alfalfa, corn and sorghum silage and grain, wheat, sorghum weed management. No one indicated that they did not learn anything or that the programs were not useful. Responses varied with respect to suggestions on what type of material could be covered better or more at future events. Those comments will be addressed at future events. Greater than 90% of farmers/agencies recognize the need for more water conserving practices in order to maintain regional agriculture and economic stability. Easily, more than 10% of regional farmers have begun implementing water-conserving practices in their operations. Results from field day and workshop surveys indicate that greater than 70% of producers have changed to more water use efficient crops and methods in the past 5 years. Agriculture and regional economics have been maintained and, in some cases, improved through conservation efforts highlighted by this and other similar programs. Weed management in sorghum continues to be the number one requested area among growers of sorghum for research improvements and updates. This program strives to highlight the benefits of new weed control technologies through research plots containing herbicide-tolerant sorghums and demonstrations to show the benefits of new technologies. A new project was begun in 2012 involving a relatively new herbicide chemistry that has not been tested on forage type sorghums. Information from this study will help facilitate new labeling for this expansive crop in the region. Many sorghum growers have indicted that they will utilize this or similar technology when it becomes available or labeled. As water continues to deminish, it is likely that sorghum acres will only increase in future years. The most requested aspects of these technologies are cost and availability of products, and varieties containing herbicide tolerance. A second year of studies was completed in 2012 investigating the effects of ultra-low irrigation and dryland systems on corn and sorghum grown for grain. This project is irrigated via subsurface drip tapes and allows for multiple water treatments to be applied to the two crops (along with 2 varieties each and 2 seeding rates). It focuses on when and how much water is needed at different growth stages in order to utilize the low amounts most effectively. Preliminary results indicate that both corn and sorghum can be relatively productive with minimal amounts of water, with corn requiring slightly more to be economical. Grain sorghum is the most advantageous under true dryland conditions, but even small amounts of irrigation added to the system quickly makes corn just as competitive from a yield standpoint. This work is encouraging in that adequate yields were obtained with low irrigation both years in perhaps the worst two drought years on record for the Clovis station. Positive feedback from area growers and dairymen on the type of research and extension efforts that are resulting from this program and other Clovis science center programs associated with this one indicate that these efforts are beneficial and necessary. Regional support (including funding) for programming in this plan of work has increased and includes contributions from organizations such as National Sorghum Producers (United Sorghum Checkoff Program), NM Sorghum Growers, and industry (DuPont and BASF).