8/27/02

By MARK POWELL

The rumor had the ring of possible, or at least potential, truth to several of the farmers gathered at a Talbot County, Md., political event. “The governor’s going to stop farmers from irrigating.” That was the rumor.
It turns out that it is untrue, according to Maryland Department of Agriculture spokesman Don Vandrey. There are no plans to curtail agricultural use of water in the state.
Nevertheless, the public is paying attention to farmers use of water to irrigate their crops.
In Queen Anne’s County, more than 134 residential wells have failed this summer. John Nickerson, environmental director for the county, said farmer irrigation is a major cause of the drop in the level of the county’s Aquia aquifer.
“The aquifer’s dropped 30 to 40 feet in some places,” Nickerson said. After farmers stop irrigating, the Aquia will eventually return close to its normal levels. “The Aquia has a lot of water in it. It’s about 200 feet thick.” Many of the wells going dry in Queen Anne’s are of the older variety, which can’t pump water from more than 25 feet below the surface.
So there is water for the county’s farmers and residents for the long term.
But, in the meantime, many pumps in residential wells in the county are burning up as the water level gets below the point they can reach. “We’re getting angry calls and letters about farmers irrigating,” Nickerson said. Farmers are protected in Maryland law from being held liable when their irrigation wells cause neighboring wells to come up short.
“No other business is protected like that,” Nickerson said, crediting Maryland Farm Bureau’s lobbying for protecting farmer interests.
Nickerson said the prolonged drought has turned into a hydrological drought, meaning that it is beginning to effect water reservoirs many feet below the surface.
Historic drought
This year’s drought appears to be reaching historic levels. According to the National Weather Service, the past 11 1/2 months is the driest September to August period recorded in Maryland since records started being kept in 1871. Baltimore’s three reservoirs have 49 percent of their normal capacity. Since June 1, Baltimore has recorded 5.54 inches of rain — that’s the driest summer since 1930.
Ground water levels and stream flows are plummeting throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Central Maryland residents have applied for more than 2,000 well permits according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. Towns that range from Oxford, Md., to Thurmont in Frederick County, Md., have issued strict rules on water usage.
And the drought-stricken trees whose leaves are turning brown and falling, according to the University of Maryland’s Marc Teffeau, are gone forever. Many white pines and red maples will not recover from this year’s drought.
Irrigation
Irrigation companies and crop insurance salesmen in the region are busy. Very busy.
David Brown of Sussex Irrigation in Laurel, Del., said he expects the fall sales season to be tremendous. Farmers without irrigation, in most cases, do not have a crop this year.
“Our service guys have been swamped since last fall,” Brown said.
Since advertising a payment program arranged with MidAtlantic Farm Credit that allows farmers to put off payments until 2004, Brown has gotten a lot of phone calls from producers who want systems in place on the farms but were concerned about finances in a drought year.
Irrigation systems cost about $700 to $1,000 per acre, Brown said. “This year, a system would have paid for itself,” he said.
Bobby Walls of Walls Irrigation in Milford, Del., said this year has been the busiest for his company — ever.
“This year has made a lot of farmers realize how vulnerable they are,” Walls said. “In Lewes, Del., field corn is chest high. That’s bad.”
Farmers putting up irrigation systems in Delaware and much of the Eastern Shore of Maryland are lucky in that they have aquifers close to the surface. Before irrigation is installed, companies such as Walls, O.A. Newton, Self Propelled of Denton, Md., and Sussex have to be sure water is available — which it usually is. Permits, which take three or four months to obtain, are required.
Mike Collison of A.C. Schultes in Bridgeville, Del., installs wells for irrigation equipment. He’s been extremely busy he said. “Guys are running their systems non-stop,” he said. Irrigation systems, he said, are supposed to supplement rainfall. This year, it has replaced rainfall, which stresses the systems and the water.
He’s got 11 test wells waiting. Many farmers, he added, are fearful of government restrictions on irrigation at some point. By getting in now, they could be ahead of restrictions.
Crop insurance adjusters and insurance agents are preparing for a lot of claims.
David Simpson, crop insurance agent in Prospect, Va., said this year is the worst he’s seen in more than two decades of working with farmers in the corn and soybean belt east of I-95 in Virginia.
Some farmers are still spraying soybeans with pesticides to meet the demands of crop insurance. “If you have some potential, you should keep spraying,” Simpson said. But, “wheat beans”, or, double-crop soybeans, and corn are done for, he said.
“We try to apply some common sense,” he said, adding that in some cases that doesn’t work.
Simpson said the farmers he works with are looking to average about 45 bushels to the acre of corn, or about 30 percent of their normal crop. Farmers who have been harvesting corn for the last two weeks — many weeks ahead of schedule — are reporting moisture levels in the corn of from 14 percent to 24 percent. “It’s so dry, many are just taking straight to the grain bins, with no drying down,” Simpson said.
The soybean crop in Virginia appears to be almost devastated, with about 10 percent of the normal yield, Simpson said.
Extension agents
Agricultural Extension agents are advising farmers to stay in contact with the crop insurance providers and read the rules on their insurance. Insurance agents urge farmers to contact them before doing anything to drought-damaged crops.
Talbot County, Md., Extension ag agent Dave Almquist said corn in that Eastern Shore county will average 35 to 50 bushels, soybeans will average 15 bushels.
“Some of the double crop beans will get 4 or 5,” Almquist said. “Even if it starts raining now you have to realize that it is almost September. There is not enough time or daylight left this summer for soybeans to do anything worthwhile with the rain.”
And, Almquist said, “pasture ground is dried up.”
“Some of it is just plain dead and will need to be reseeded but who knows when.”
In Washington County, Md., Extension agent Don Schwartz reports, “Corn is dying faster then it can be cut for silage! Soybeans are still alive and waiting on rain to fill what pods have not dropped. Pastures are brown with most of the county feeding as though it was winter since mid-July.”
Schwartz said what was a good spring hay crop is quickly being depleted.
He said, “Groundwater supplies continue to diminish with major springs being severely depleted or going dry.
“FSA continues to get applications for emergency wells for livestock watering. ”