From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark
Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He
writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.
Sustainability is the hot buzz word that everyone talks
about these days. Some people have
different definitions of the word, but Wikipedia defines it, in part, as “to
maintain, support or endure.” Further
information on the Wikipedia page on sustainability was as varied as there are
opinions on what sustainable is and more than I wanted to endure. But I think most people would agree that a
sustainable practice has outputs that are equal or greater than the inputs,
without totally depleting the inputs.
Water is one of those inputs, and we all use it. Farmers and ranchers wisely utilize water to
produce food, fiber, and other products.
I can cite numerous examples where agriculturalists have stepped up to
the plate to meet the demands of a rapidly growing global population by using
less water, land, fertilizer and fuel.
I want to highlight a local agriculture family business that
defines sustainability and recently won an award for it. Saunders Brothers, of Piney River, won the
2013 Environmental Stewardship Award from the Virginia Nursery and Landscape
Association (VNLA). Saunders Brothers is
a large scale wholesale nursery and fruit producer in Nelson County. Saunders Brothers started doing Evapotranspiration
(ET)- based irrigation during the summer of 2011. The goal of ET-based irrigation is to
determine the amount of water lost from a containerized plant during one day
and to replace exactly that amount through irrigation. They have been conducting cutting edge
research with the University of Florida on ET-based irrigation.
Further testing and research was using Leachate Fraction
(LF) technology, which is the ratio of the excess water lost out of the bottom
of the container during an irrigation cycle to the total irrigation
applied. Testing and research was also
conducted on the amount of nutrients that stayed in the pot. The results of their testing showed that equal
or better quality plants could be grown using less water and fertilizer. It was determined that fertility levels could
be reduced by as much as 30-40 percent on some crops. This precision-type irrigation resulted in
their using 50 percent less water in 2012 compared to the previous five year average.
Saunders Brothers further enhanced this trial process by
installing wireless irrigation controllers on a portion of the nursery. So instead of adjusting irrigation levels out
in the field, the irrigation run times are programmable on PCs and the data is
wirelessly transmitted to control panels.
The irrigation system can even be run from the University of Florida in
Gainesville from a PC. They plan to
convert the rest of the nursery to the wireless system by the fall of
2013. By utilizing this technology, they
are able to apply the specific amounts of irrigation and nutrients that the
particular plants need, no more and no less.
The programmable irrigation system takes into account the type of plant,
pot size and crown of plant.
This year, another component will be added to the ET-based
irrigation. They plan to install an
on-site weather system. The on-site
weather system will be tied into the irrigation system. So rainfall will be factored into the
irrigation needs. For example, if 0.25”
of water is called for a group of plants, and a 0.25” of rain falls, the
irrigation system will not supply water that day.
Saunders Brothers has other conservation measures such as
irrigation ponds that also catch runoff from the nursery. These ponds catch water that can be recycled
back through the nursery. The ponds also
serve as settling locations for runoff nutrients which the company monitors on
a regular basis. Everything is tied
together. This is today’s precision
agriculture. An agriculture industry
that precisely and smartly utilizes natural resources.
Sustainability, a buzz word, yes, but to many in the
agriculture community, it is a way of doing business that helps profitability,
efficiently utilizes natural resources and inputs and ensures that the business
can be transitioned to the next generation.
American agriculture has been a shining light around the
world when it comes to food production.
Time and time again, American agriculture has risen to the
challenge. We have another challenge
ahead of us. There will be 2.5 billion
more people to feed in the year 2050, and we will have to find a way to do
that. No doubt that technology will be a
major factor, and I am sure that we will continue to do it in a sustainable
way.
Until next time,
Mark
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