By Darren Turley
TAD Executive Director
Water scarcity continues to be one of the biggest topics of discussion around our state. But water needs are very different in each region of the state.
San Antonio and far South Texas need additional and substantial water sources in the near future to continue to provide water for its fast population growth. Desalination of sea water could be a possible answer, but the process is expensive and uses a lot of energy. This desalination process is also being discussed to treat the brackish water in the Panhandle’s Dockum Aquifer to produce more usable water for irrigating crops.
The Panhandle’s Ogallala Aquifer has been researched as long as any other aquifer in the nation. The continued reduction in the water levels across the counties over the Ogallala Aquifer has led to much research into how water can be saved. Irrigation technology and practices have continued to improve, allowing crops to be produced with less water.
Another water-stretching move is research into new, more drought-tolerant crops that can be produced in the area and used to feed livestock. With nearly one quarter of the nation’s beef supply sitting above the Ogallala, and a very large amount of the nation’s dairy production as well, the need to preserve this water affects every American’s food cost.
I had a chance recently to speak to the Ogallala Aquifer Program Forage Research Workshop in Bushland. A lot of research is underway into the production of forage with less water in the High Plains. For example, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension dairy specialist Juan Piñeiro has conducted several research projects into sorghum, which uses much less water than a traditional corn crop and has the ability to meet dairy farmers’ forage needs. You can read his latest research paper in this newsletter.
The new sorghum varieties and the BMR varieties continue to produce much better results in both drought tolerance and starch production. The continued development of winter crops that use less water is also a priority for producers and researchers.
Texas will continue to see increased water demands as our population grows, but research and technology looks promising to provide other options for water production or to stretch the water we have much further into the future.
