We are off and Running at the WCC!

Our first crops were planted this week at the Water Conservation Center, so we are off and running in our demonstration program for the 2026 season! Two half circles of early corn silage were planted on 4/22, after the field had been prepared with strip tillage, residual herbicide and pre-watered with 3" of irrigation. We had been watching the soil moisture and temperature conditions closely and were finally able to press the go button!

The early planted silage corn will share water with a later planted grain corn crop. This should allow us to spread out the peak water demand and ensure adequate moisture during peak crop demand. The early planted silage should also allow us to harvest ahead of many of the silage crops in the area, spreading out the demand on equipment during the tight harvest window. Another advantage we hope to see is that the conditions after harvest should allow us to establish a cover crop whilst the soil is still warm.

The other halves of each pivot will get planted to grain corn in another 4-5 weeks. Once that crop is established, we will fit mobile drip hose to two of the spans on each pivot. The aim is to demonstrate the differences between irrigation in bubble mode versus mobile drip in a side x side comparison. We will also be able to compare that to the same hybrid of grain corn grown on subsurface drip (SDI) in the neighboring field, setting up a 3-way comparison on irrigation efficiency.

Stay tuned for more updates as we head into season 2026!