“The conservation’s just a byproduct. We’re
getting better crops, and we are, in general,
saving money,” he said.
But researchers say water-saving technology
could determine whether some farms can stay
in business at all, especially in Arizona, which
faces cuts in its portion of Colorado River water
under a drought contingency plan the seven
states hammered out this year.
Drone-mounted cameras and yield monitors
— which measure the density of crops like corn
and wheat as they pass through harvesting
equipment — can show a farmer which land
is productive and which is not, said Ed Martin,
a professor and extension specialist at the
University of Arizona.
“If we’re going to take stuff out of production
because we don’t have enough water, I think
these technologies could help identify which
ones you should be taking out,” Martin said.
Each technology has benefits and limits,
said Kendall DeJonge, another Agriculture
Department engineer who does research at
the Greeley farm.
Soil moisture monitors measure a single point,
but a farm has a range of conditions and soil
types. Infrared images can spot thirsty crops,
but only after they need water. Agricultural
weather stations provide a wealth of data
on the recent past, but they can’t predict
the future.
“All of these things are tools in the toolbox,”
DeJonge said. “None of them are a
silver bullet.”