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<br />r <br /> <br />,~ <br /> <br />..~ <br /> <br />information transfer activities are being assisted by the <br />NRCS Public Affairs Specialist and Resource Conservationist, <br /> <br />Southeast Colorado Resource Conservation and Development <br />Office (RC&D) assisted with the original project proposal <br />and other technical support, <br /> <br />RESULTS <br /> <br />Ten producers used 13 surge valves on 740 acres of cropland <br />in demonstrations over three years, For the total project <br />area, 60% of the demonstration took place on corn, 38% with <br />alfalfa and 2% on milo cropping systems, Eight of the <br />project sites were with gated pipe and two with concrete <br />ditches. <br /> <br />Both labor and irrigation water savings were reported in the <br />evaluations, 80% of producers noted some amount of labor <br />savings with surge applications of this six sites showed <br />labor savings averaging 33%, Accordingly the surge <br />technology reduced irrigation time 33% on seven of ten <br />sites, These savings were realized without significant crop <br />yield change on six of ten sites and yield increases of up <br />to 10% on 296 acres of the project site acres, (This <br />represents 40% of the project acres,) These findings <br />support the earlier as well as on going results of CSU's Jim <br />Valliant, <br /> <br />Most significantly, all producers expressed that surge <br />technology is practical method or irrigation management, and <br />they would recommend surge irrigation to others as a method <br />of irrigation with the exception of one producer in a <br />concrete ditch problem with silt accumulation, <br /> <br />Surge equipment used by the cooperating producers was <br />reported to be maintenance free (60%) and in all cases easy <br />to program and operate, <br /> <br />Three of the cooperators also used gypsum block technology <br />to help determine soil moisture at one foot depth <br />increments, This method was compared to the use of soil <br />probes, Farmers expressed preference for probe moisture <br />investigation techniques due to relative ease of probe use <br />and time involved, Data collection on these sites was <br />difficult due to the irregularity of irrigation events and <br />timing, <br /> <br />Cooperating producers, going into the study, had expressed <br />concern of ability of surge to irrigate established alfalfa, <br />It can be difficult to maintain traditional corrugated <br />furrows in established alfalfa because of the extensive <br />growth of the plant, The eight cooperating producers using <br />