A Final Farewell from Steve

When the board hired me as your general manager in May 2007, I never would have imagined that I would have ended up spending the last sixteen years of my career being part of a truly unique and cutting-edge organization. I learned a great deal from (the board) and hope that my contributions to the district and the community were as valuable to (the board) as they are to me. Thank you for allowing me to serve you and an exceptional community of citizen stakeholders.

Lauren and I will never forget our friendships with you and the community.

Choosing the Correct Meters for Your NEW Well

All newly permitted wells are required to have a district approved flow meter. District approved means the meter must read in acre-feet, acre-inches or gallons and have the correct number of digits for the permitted class. If these criteria are not met that well is considered to be out of compliance.

What you may not know: Once you drill a new well all the other wells in that GPU are required to have district approved meters. If the other well(s) on the GPU are already metered, but don't meet current totalizer requirements, you can keep that current meter on the well, until that meter has to be replaced. Then, that meter has to be replaced with the correct metering requirements. It will be required to have the correct number of digits according to the class size of the well. There are no meters are grandfathered in.

Below is a chart showing the correct number of digits depending on the totalizer you are using. 

2023 Ag Conservation Demonstrations Continue the Course at the North Plains WCC

For 2023, the agriculture water conservation demonstrations at the North Plains Water Conservation Center (WCC) north of Dumas have followed through with the foundational cotton and corn rotation work that has yielded significant insights over the last 5 years. The work has shown that, when managed properly, the two crops’ water use combine for a cumulative total that meets the district’s annual allowable allocation (18 inches for every surface acre owned). In addition, each crop is generally a commercially viable performer that helps growers maintain economic viability.

As usual, this season has presented its own set of unique challenges. On the heels of some of the driest winters in recent years, the district started water management early by pre-watering in March to make sure to be able to keep up when the crops reached their peak water use later in the season. At the beginning of May before the crops were planted, it started to rain; and it kept raining until June. As always, people involved in agriculture celebrated the moisture, though the continually wet ground did interfere with cropping plans and strategies.

According to WCC Contract Farmer, Stan Spain “Planting was delayed, though the original seed varieties were still planted. Some growers in the area chose to change their seed choices to shorter season varieties.” The district's cotton planting date demonstration was derailed since seed could not be planted on the early planting date because of wet conditions.

The district did cooperate on a cotton variety demonstration along with Dr. Craig Bednarz, West Texas A&M Assistant Professor and Director of the Semi-Arid Agricultural Systems Institute. “The demonstration is designed to track varieties for early fruit setting and increased production in the northern Panhandle,” said Spain.

Other challenges this growing season included some damaging hail and wind. Particularly in the subsurface drip irrigated corn, high winds caused substantial laying-down of the corn stalks. While most of the stalks did not break, the low positioning of the stalks may cause problems during harvest. Spain suggested that the lack of water at the surface of the drip field may have caused the brace roots to under-develop, leading to the plants being more easily blown over.

Despite the late start and drastic temperature and weather changes, Spain says both the cotton and corn crops seem to have adjusted, and average to above average yields are expected in corn. “Cotton yields may well be down compared to recent years, though an average yield is still possible,” said Spain. In upcoming newsletters we will have more information on yields and water use at the WCC.