Agronomy Insights

Water management is one of the most common limiting factors for producers in Indiana. As I have went through Purdue classes, talked to other farmers, worked for Trimble as an intern with their Water Management Division, and worked on my farm, I have really started to take a closer interest in this area of agronomy. I have been fortunate to grow up on a farm in East Central Indiana and we realized over 10 years ago we needed to improve the drainage of our soil. So, my dad and uncle started a drainage business and it has been one of the best investments we ever made. My dad says that you pay for the tile every year even if you don’t have any in your fields. This is because you lose so much yield potential due to water damage, less timely field operations, increased disease, etc. each year you don’t have tile. A lot of energy, investments, and news coverage is likely going to shift to water management in the coming years. This is because water is the most limiting factor throughout the whole world within crop production and this resource will keep getting more scarce as the population grows and production agriculture expands into marginal lands. Most production fields have too much water or too little water. You can make yourself more valuable as an agronomist if you learn what practices that research proves to minimize water use. Examples of this are reducing tillage to conserve moisture, turning to genetics with better water use efficiency, or managing irrigation effectively. I highly recommend looking to classes such as AGRY 450 – Soil & Water Conservation or AGRY 525 – Crop Physiology, these both focus on making our crops more efficient, improving cropping systems, and managing our soils.