8009 ‎(2)‎

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8009
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: Restoring the Waters.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: Boulder, CO.
• Copyright Material: YES

fields either through gravity feed or low-
lift pumps. Water for the Lundberg Farm,
like all farms served by the district, is
metered at every turnout. According to
the Lundbergs, surface water from the
district costs $3 per acre-foot, plus a $5
per acre standby charge. Ground water
costs $15 to $35 per acre-foot depending
on the lift height, efficiency of the pump
and maintenance costs.
Through careful water management, the
Lundbergs apparently use at least 25% less
than the district average. The Lundbergs
have reduced their water use through a
variety of techniques:
^ All fields are laser leveled to assure even
water application. This practice reduced
water use from 5 to 6 acre-feet per acre
to 3.5 acre-feet per acre.
^ Aring-roller is used to flatten clods of
earth while providing a groove to
protect the rice seeds. This avoids
having to raise the water level over the
top of the biggest clods.
^ After planting and flushing the fields to
germinate the rice, the fields are left to
dry for two weeks so that the weeds will
die. Only then is permanent flood
irrigation applied.
^ The water level on the fields is mea-
sured with stakes and carefully moni-
tored.
^ Irrigation is curtailed early in the
season, allowing fields to dry, often
without releasing any water.
^ The Lundbergs grow early varieties of
rice, which need to be covered with
water for only 13S days instead of 160
days. With less consumptive water use,
these varieties have the same yields as
the full season varieties and are less
subject to damage by early or late rains.
The Lundbergs are proud of the wide
variety and large numbers of waterfowl
and other birds that use their fields,
especially in the winter. The Lundbergs
cooperate with wildlife groups in bird
counts, post their lands with no hunting
signs and, most importantly, leave rice
stubble for winter bird feed rather than
burning their fields. In turn the birds are
vital to the Lundbergs' soil building
program, providing natural fertilization.
For More Information Contact:
Ronnie Cohen
Natural Resources Defense Council
71 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
as
According to the
Lundbergs, the birds
especially seem to like the
fields planted with Weha~ni
rice, a variety developed
and grown only by the
Lundbergs.
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