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May
5/4/2012
As prices rise, farmers, feds back off conservation program
It was springtime, and the rocky sod Justin Downs sought to bust turned to shale just beneath the surface. His backhoe bucked across the rocky slab. The Molt farmer made some adjustments and the blade trundled on.
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Source:
The Billings Gazette
By:
Tom Lutey
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5/4/2012
OTHER VOICES: Farm Bill loophole must be closed to protect Iowa’s land and water
For the past 25 years, farmers have observed a conservation compact with the American people - an acknowledgment that voluntarily accepting taxpayer money in the form of subsidies carries a responsibility to protect soil, water and wildlife habitat. Yet as lawmakers sit down to write the 2012 Farm Bill, this fundamental agreement, known as "conservation compliance," is under threat.
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Source:
Sioux City Journal
By:
Brad Redlin and Jerry Peckumn
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5/3/2012
Florida’s tug of war over fresh water supplies intensifies
The tug-of-war over finite water resources is only becoming more intense. Agriculture must have its portion for irrigation, while industry and municipalities must have theirs.
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Source:
Southeast Farm Press
By:
David Bennett
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5/3/2012
Water Users Assn. Puts Call on its Uncompaghre Water Rights
WESTERN SAN JUANS - A very dry winter on the Western Slope is resulting in disturbing water forecasts from experts, and pushing water users to protect their senior water rights.
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Source:
The Watch
By:
Kati O’Hare
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5/3/2012
Super Ditch pilot ready for take off
A pilot program for the Lower Arkansas Valley's Super Ditch was approved Wednesday by State Engineer Dick Wolfe. A substitute water supply plan will allow 250 acre-feet of water to be transferred this year to Fountain and Security in El Paso County from the Catlin Canal in Otero County.
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Source:
The Pueblo Chieftain
By:
Chris Woodka
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5/2/2012
Dry conditions persist in the Arkansas Valley
Arkansas River flows through Pueblo briefly surged last week as farmers emptied last year’s winter storage accounts in Lake Pueblo in advance of Tuesday’s deadline.
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Source:
The Pueblo Chieftain
By:
Chris Woodka
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April
4/30/2012
Deficit-irrigation farm explores manners to get yield from less water
From a distance, Jon Altenhofen's duties at hand — chipping away with a hoe at parched soil on an unseasonably warm day, taking over where his machinery left off to put the final details into his dirt before corn is planted and irrigating will be needed. The ground Altenhofen is working isn't that of his own, but that of a research farm — located a few miles to the northeast of Greeley, where he and other researchers push crops to their limits, seeing just how little water on which the plants can survive and yet still produce quality yields.
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Source:
The Tribune
By:
Eric Brown
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4/29/2012
Is farm tile a flood factor?
Drainage tiles about 4 feet below the ground surface are used throughout the Midwest to drain soils that are seasonally to perennially wet. They enable earlier planting, improve soil aeration and increase crop yields. Questions have been raised recently regarding the role of tile drainage in flooding.
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Source:
The Gazette
By:
Keith Schilling
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