Today, we will attempt to tie the last three weeks together into the issues facing agriculture and water for Western Kansas. The idea with these columns is to briefly try and link together the factors creating the dilemma for crop production in Western Kansas and what it all means. To review briefly:
• Plants needs water for a variety of functions from photosynthesis and nutrient movement to maintaining cell turgor and growth.
• Water for the plant is extracted from the soil by roots for transport throughout the plant.
• The ability of the soil to take in water, hold it, and provide it for plant use is a function of the soil type, organic matter, structure, and depth. These also determine the rate that plants can extract water for use.
• The climate and weather determine actual plant water needs. Relative humidity, temperature, and wind either increase or decrease the water needs of the plant and its level of stress. Lower humidities, higher wind speeds, and higher temperatures increase the amount of water needed for a given level of crop production.
• Irrigation allocations increase as average precipitation decreases. In Kansas irrigation allocations increase from east to west, mirroring increased plant water needs.
For a more detailed explanation, see the previous three articles. In English, plant water usage is higher in the western half of the state due to climate. Most, not all, of the state’s irrigators rely on groundwater from the Ogallala.
The easiest way to view the Ogallala is as a checking account. It had a starting balance accumulated over thousands of years. Like any checking account there are deposits and withdrawals. As long as the total amount of deposits exceeds the total amount of withdrawals, life is good. However, if you withdraw more money than you are putting in, your balance declines. You are running a deficit or in groundwater terms, depletion. You can continue to withdraw more money than you deposit but eventually the money is gone, your account balance is zero so there are no more withdrawals, and the only money you have is what you bring in at any given time. So what can you do?
• Replenish your account by depositing funds. Meaning you quit withdrawing and make deposits only.
• Spend only what you have on hand. Trim your expenses to meet your income.
• Find new sources of income.
• Find more efficient ways to use your income.
• If we can’t find a way to handle this debt, we go out of business.
We are that person dealing with a bank account where we have withdrawn more than we have taken in for decades. Next week, how can we manage this problem?