Farmer in Deerfield brings new idea from college

Nevada Daily Mail

While irrigation and sub-irrigation or tilling are methods commonly used in Iowa's agriculture, a recent Iowa State University graduate says it is not commonly practiced in Southwest Missouri.

Rusty Johnson, a class of 2015 graduate, says he wants to bring Missouri farmers a new way to combat overly wet and dry months during farming. His new business brings a way to submerge plastic tubing across fields to manage their water tables in Missouri.

"When I was in Iowa, it was something they used all over, and it's something we need to do (in Missouri)," Johnson said. "This would benefit our farms."

Missouri University research has found sub-irrigation to be helpful to farms. The system can help keep soil from becoming saturated and keep important nutrients such as nitrogen in the soil.

"Properly installed sub-irrigation and/or drainage systems can boost yields by 20 to 40 percent," said Kelly Nelson, MU research agronomist at Greenley Memorial Research Center, the University of Missouri Extension reported.

Johnson's idea for bringing the irrigation system to his hometown arrived when he was working with his mentor, Tom Dorr. Because his major at ISU was Agriculture Engineering with an emphasis on land and water, he said he knew he wanted to find a way to help crops get water during the dry season. It was after speaking with Dorr he realized reverse-irrigation, the process of taking water from the ground during wet-months, would help his business.

Johnson, who said he has yet to have any true business but expects to have a thriving business in five years, said he used the irrigation system on half of his father's farm, Johnson Farm. The side with irrigation had 20 bushels of corn more than the side without his irrigation system. This year with the massive amounts of rain hurting farmers' ability to plant and yield crops, Johnson said that's a big difference.

"In Iowa, the topsoil is better than it is here (in Missouri)," Johnson said. "The top soil in Iowa is about 10 feet in depth, and here it is about three feet. This means Iowa can hold more water in its topsoil."

The irrigation system is relatively simple. One long pipe, dubbed the main pipe or clay tile, a reference to the old system, is planted about 30-inches from the top of the ground. Every 40-feet, a new pipe is inserted and placed underground. The pipes have holes allowing water in and out of the system and into the fields. The main pipe finishes with an outlet, typically a pond, stream or ditch. Johnson said he can install a pump to release excess water away from the field if there is no outlet.

Johnson said one of the perks of using his business is he uses equipment with GPS allowing him to find exactly where he placed his system his last time out.

"I can lay the pipe and come back five years later and find it right away," Johnson said.

Johnson said with his system he can help increase the roots of crops' depth that develops from having the correct amount of rain during the wet months and enough rain during the dry months.

"There is a lot of rain in May but the irrigation system keeps the water at soil capacity -- keeps soil from being saturated," Johnson said. "When you get into June and July, the plant is going to have a good root system to get water under the topsoil. With water that hits the soil and isn't able to be used, I can drain that saturation to field capacity, but the pipes won't drain out the soil."

Pat Miller, Director and Agronomy expert at University of Missouri Extension in Nevada, said while the system is expensive, it can be necessary for farmers with fields on lower soil.

"It is expensive to install, but in a wet year like this, it's especially good if you've got fields that are not productive because they get too wet," Miller said. "Farmers use maps to see what parts of their fields are not yielding, and often times it's the wet spots."

Miller agreed in most years when the weather is drier, being able to put water into the soil is a benefit to the irrigation system.

"If you have low areas that hold water, it's great. It's just expensive," she said.