sunflower

Kenyan farmers profit from the sun to water crops

Drip irrigation requires a costly upfront investment, but it pays for itself in a relatively short time

For subsistence farmers in rain-scarce Kenya, drip irrigation can mean the difference between hand-to-mouth survival and being able to grow an agricultural business like Alice Migwi’s. She now has three full-time employees, an expanding plot of land, and enough surplus produce to sell to restaurants and hotels after harvest. “A drip system is perhaps the

Drought forces California farmers to idle cropland

The price of California farm goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables is likely to rise

Drought-stricken California farmers facing drastic cutbacks in irrigation water are expected to idle some 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of cropland this year in a record production loss that could cause billions of dollars in economic damage, industry officials said. Large-scale crop losses in California, the No. 1 U.S. farm state producing half the nation’s fruits


A municipal worker points to where unusually fast water flows washed out a culvert upstream from the Von Bargen farmyard.

Ranchers hit by wall of water demand post-flood answers

 Sitting as it does on a kind of plateau north of the highlands of Riding Mountain National Park, it’s hard to believe that this area could be flooded at all. But a flash flood did sweep through the century-old farmyard of cattle producers Karen and Craig Von Bargen on April 28 — causing six-figure losses

Half-moon holes produce crops in the sub-Saharan desert

An innovative water-trapping technique is making the desert bloom in one of the most inhospitable regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Demi-lunes — holes in the shape of a semi-circle — are used to capture and store run-off rainwater. It’s a simple low-tech water-harvesting method which enables crops to grow in a hostile climate. The water conservation


Irrigation challenges highlighted in 2012

After a couple of challenging wet seasons, the spring of 2012 looked like it was off to a good start. Dry, workable soils led to one of the earliest planting completions in the history of the potato business in Manitoba, and growers were looking forward to a successful season. However, that planting season was only

Time to put your potatoes to bed

Those long, arrow-straight rows of carefully hilled potato plants are one of the key features of any potato production region — but in a few years they might be a thing of the past, says a soil scientist from USDA. David Tarkalson, a member of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service based in Kimberly, Idaho, thinks


Open valves on pivot in January cause major damage

Vandals who opened a valve on an irrigation pivot in January have left a Carberry-area potato farmer with a major repair bill — and an unwanted skating rink. Paul Adriaansen, who operates Spud Hill Farms, said that judging by the meter, the pump ran for about 1,000 hours starting on Jan. 20 before he noticed that

Climate Change To Hit American West

Climate change could cut water flow in some of the American West’s biggest river basins – including the Rio Grande and the Colorado – by up to 20 per cent this century, the Interior Department reported April 25. This steep drop in stream flow is projected for parts of the U.S. West that have seen


Fertigation Gaining In Popularity

Manitoba potato producers are growing a high-value horticulture crop with a hefty appetite for nutrients, particularly nitrogen. But they must also consider infield conditions that can have a huge impact on what happens to that nitrogen. An untimely rain event could wash it through the root zone, making it unavailable. Soaked soils and warm temperatures

Private Equity Sees “Buckets Of Money” In Water Buys

Water scarcity will generate big returns for the irrigation sector once climate change and population growth take their toll on farming, private equity managers said Nov. 9. Asked at an agriculture investing conference whether it is possible to make money from water, typically a public good rather than a bankable commodity, Judson Hill of NGP