 for going were three-fold. 1) Attend the Chicago Bears game at Tottenham Spurs stadium. 2) Catch up with good friends. 3) Catch up with friends from my Arctic trip. Playing tourist I’m not a good...
I’ve been working on a project, I can’t really tell you much about it yet but stay tuned for next month when I should be able to show you what it is. In the process of working on this project, I’ve had to go back through images to find some...
Finally getting through some images from a weekend away I had back in June. This is one of the cottages that used to be a chicken coop or tool shed on the property at Taliesin. Working my way through the tour so I can write a guest blog post for someone. Stay tuned!...
Even a parking garage can be art. Frank Lloyd Wright has always been one of my favorite architects. Stay tuned for more! Interested in purchasing this image?Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 20, 2012; details of disappearance updated.Thank you for getting yourself to a hospital for treatment. In my opinion, treatment is harder than self-harm or s.  Your pain, trauma and feelings are so valid and your experiences will give you the wisdom that will help you bring a lot of good into the world. I am sure this story will resonate with people and will prompt some self-reflection. My mom is similar to yours, and when I had depressive episodes I would have to put on my earbuds and do meditations that involved tapping/movement (ie- the tapping solution) so it brings me away from their "extraness". Same thing with music and books. I hope since this story is 2 years ago, you've received more care and are on a path toward healing.Today the land produces corn, onions, beets, peppers, squash and dill.
The key to that abundance is a subsurface irrigation system he first tried four years ago, with a grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board through the Monument Soil and Water Conservation District.
He got a second grant in 2012, from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program known as EQIP, through the Natural Resources Conservation Service to replace old pumps, install main lines and set up an underground system on 20 acres of land leased from Bansen Farm LLC near Monument, which also grows crops today.
In a region preoccupied with drought and water supply woes, he says, subsurface drip irrigation is a path to more efficient water use, better crop yields, and a more self-sufficient farming economy.
Bahrenburg, who has been farming in Grant County for 44 years, is certified as an organic grower, meaning he can’t use herbicides, pesticides or conventional fertilizers. He said he started looking into the subsurface approach after becoming frustrated by weeds.
He considered surface drip irrigation, but that didn’t solve the weed problem.
Then he read about work done by Suat Irmak, a University of Nebraska engineer who has developed irrigation systems for water stressed areas worldwide, and was intrigued.
“I hopped on a plane, and what he showed me solved many problems,” Bahrenburg said.
The subsurface drip irrigation, or SDI, system used by Bahrenburg distributes water through a network of tubing that comes in 1,000 foot rolls, with emitters every 18 inches.
The tubing is set 15 inches beneath the surface, which irrigates the plant roots without the evaporation, runoff and weed germination seen in overhead irrigation. The depth is important, he said, noting a farmer in Idaho went too deep and the system didn’t work. Too shallow, and the tubing may be at risk as the farmer discs or works the soil.
So far, Bahrenburg sees “tremendous water savings.” The water is dispersed at.26 gallons per hour, compared to 3 gallons a minute with surface sprinklers that also lose significant water to evaporation. He notes that on a hot day, an above-ground watering system may lose 20 percent or more to evaporation.
For Bahrenburg, this is not just about his own crops.
A neighbor, Ted Phelps, also installed an SDI system on 20 acres, bringing the total to 60 acres of SDI fields in that area. Bahrenburg said there also is a 1-acre system at the Malheur Agricultural Research Station in Ontario, and a 3-acre plot on a farm in Milton-Freewater. Azure Standard currently is farming one of the SDI fields in Kimberly.
Bahrenburg cites predictions that SDI and no-till farming will become worldwide solutions by the end of the century, to conserve water, preserve water quality, and manage labor and power costs.
Locally, he sees agriculture and efficient water use as a keys to a sustainable economy and food security for Grant County.
“We have a relatively small population in a large county, a significant national forest, orchards with fruit trees, diversified crops on farms and ranches, with good soils and an important water resource,” he said.
This entry was posted in Drip Irrigation News, Drought and tagged agriculture, drip irrigation, drip irrigation best practices, drip irrigation on row crops, drip irrigation system, drought, irrigation efficiency, oregon, row crops, SDI, subsurface drip irrigation, water efficiency. Bookmark the permalink.As election day nears, Operation Counterweight continues. Today the spotlight is on the race between incumbent Democrat Mike McIntyre and Republican challenger David Rouzer for North Carolina’s 7th Congressional District.
McIntyre has been called one of the most vulnerable House Democrats of this election cycle. A new poll offers a glimpse into...
Mourdock is a prime target...
Democratic strategists need a dramatic shift in the House playing field if they are going to have any chance of netting the 25 seats they need to regain a majority in the House of Representatives. And that outcome looks increasingly remote.
Right now, the...
I have previously highlighted Richard Mourdock’s attempt to close the cash gap with Democrat Joe Donnelly.
A half-million dollar cash advantage in...
It may seem counter-intuitive, but Upstate New York (the NY flyover country) is a key to holding the House, and will form a core of Operation Counterweight.
In 2010, Republicans picked up several seats upstate; redistricting has caused the loss of one upstate seat (and one downstate, Anthony Weiner’s old district)...
It has been too long, far too long. 26 years long. To put it in perspective, the last time Maryland was represented by a Republican in the Senate, Ronald Reagan was still plotting his “tear down this wall” moment, Steve Jobs had just been kicked out of Apple, and the New...
Now that Richard Mourdock has defeated Dick Lugar and is well into his general election campaign against Democrat Joe Donnelly, it is of paramount importance that we keep Mourdock’s campaign for Senate strong.
Will Elizabeth Warren escape accountability for telling what at best were tall tales and at worst lies about her Cherokee heritage?
Will Warren get away with using her mystical heritage strategically to advance her career in a crafty way which provided her with (im)plausible deniability?
Will the use and abuse of the Cherokee...
Have you ever been asked that question, “If you could go back and change anything in your life, would you?” Even though my life and career have been a cross between cooked spaghetti and a roller coaster ride, I don’t think I’d change anything. But I do have one regret. I spent way too much time in my 20’s and 30’s comparing myself to others. Comparing my bank account, my children’s school, my appearance, my vacations, and my career achievements. How I wish I had spent that time living in the moment instead.
I remember one frustrating situation when I was offered a dream career. It was a made-for-me position speaking and training, and the job paid more money than I’d ever been paid. There was one huge problem, though….travel was required. A lot of travel, more than three weeks a month. Being a divorced mom of two young sons, that was not possible for me. Disappointed, I turned down the offer. For the next several weeks I sulked. I was convinced that an opportunity like that would never present itself again. And, at age 32, I worried that I didn’t have a lot of time left to nurture my career.
One evening, after the boys were in bed, I sat at the kitchen table paying bills and looking over my finances. “If you had only taken that job, you would have a lot more $$ in this account”, I scolded myself. I continued with the negative thinking, “You could have gotten a nanny; you could have found a way to make it work.” Suddenly I heard a voice saying, “Beth, why are you complaining? Look at this bank account. You have every bill paid, and you have money left over. You work PART TIME and get the opportunity to be at home in the mornings and afternoons. You don’t have to do EVERYTHING right now!” The voice was loud and clear, and I not only heard it, I felt it.
I began to pay attention to my thoughts and noticed that I’d often compare myself to women who had no children or whose children were grown. I’d compare my career accomplishments to women who were older and had far more experience