NEAR PAULLINA, Iowa (KTIV) -
Mother Nature has done a lot of damage to this year's corn crop. But, there just may be a way for farmers to take back control, and keep their crops healthy rain, shine, or drought.
Sound too good to be true? One Northwest Iowa farmer says he's already seeing proof that it works.
The Federal Government is calling the summer's drought the worst natural disaster in US History. You don't have to look far to find its affects in all three Siouxland states.
"This is an extreme year with extreme cases," stated Paullina, Iowa farmer Keith Rohwer.
If ever there was a time to test new irrigation systems, this would be the year. The Rohwer farm is in the experimental phase of a sub-irrigation system that gets water into the ground more effectively that traditional ways of watering crops.
Tuesday, Rohwer opened up his field to other growers, showing them how the system works.
"With the higher crop prices it becomes a lot more viable," said Brent Tewes, a Spirit Lake, Iowa farmer who came to the Rohwer's field day.
Right now, he's using a temporary sump pump set-up. But, by next summer he'll have a permanent system in place.
"The control structures control the water and allow us to control how much water is released at different times of the year," Rohwer explained.
The new system preserves the tiling so growers can still remove excess water, in years when it's high.
This is a system that allows us also great drainage abilities too, which is very important," pointed out Rohwer,
Growers who implement this system will have to overcome the cost, which is double traditional system, more if there isn't a nearby water source. The Rohwers pull water from Dry Creek, which is fed by a nearby water treatment plant.
"It'll take a little bit more management but I think some of the yields in drier years will make that time well worth it," said Iowa State University Agriculture Engineer Matt Helmers.
"This corn was able to get water at times that were critical. A month ago looking at the crop you could see a green growth pattern through the entire field," Rohwers said.
They won't know how well it worked until harvest, but so far the Rohwers think their investment of time and money is worth the result.
Right now, the Rohwers have the sub-irrigation system installed on 30-acres of their 600-acre farm.
The sub-irrigation system works best on flat land, only allowing for a foot difference in elevation. However, the Rohwers are trying to expand it across their hilly field.
© Pump system lets farmers put water back into their fields
