U.S. Water News Online
ULYSSES, Kan. -- Cotton might soak up a lot of water once it's turned into a bath towel, but as a crop it's not as thirsty as others.
That makes it an increasingly attractive alternative for southwest Kansas farmers looking to conserve the groundwater in the Ogallala Aquifer -- farmers such as Jay Garetson of Copeland.
Garetson put some of his family's corn acreage to cotton two years ago and plans to continue -- and expand -- that practice.
``We were looking for an alternative crop that had the same or better economic viability of corn but uses less water,'' Garetson told irrigators at the Southwest Kansas Irrigation Association annual meeting last week. ``We knew there would be a point where we couldn't use the amount of water it was taking to produce corn.''
Garetson said on his irrigated fields, it took about 18 inches of water to produce a 200-bushel corn crop. He used half of that on his cotton acreage.
Experts say the future of the Ogallala and the economies that sprang from it depend on conservation and careful planning to slow the rate of depletion. In today's dollars, the total economic effect on southwest Kansas from irrigation is estimated at more than $188 million.
But as the water table dropped, some producers were looking for other alternatives.
``That's the primary thing that drew cotton production to this area,'' Garetson said. ``It was the declining aquifer. And the water savings we will obtain in cotton production allows us to continue to grow corn.''
Cotton production has increased in southwest Kansas and the state, according to the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service. More than 60,000 acres of cotton were planted this year, up 69 percent from the previous year.
That acreage produced more than 76,000 bales, of which around 30,000 were ginned at the Northwest Cotton Growers Co-Op Gin at Moscow, a cooperative in which Garetson is an investor.
Two years ago, Garetson, who farms with his brother, Jarvis, and father, Jesse, planted 40 acres of cotton as an experiment. This year, the family plans to plant half their acreage to cotton and the other to corn on a rotation basis.
Research on the crop is limited, he said, but so far, the Garetson family has seen benefits.
The cotton/corn rotation helps eliminate corn root worm problems, and the cotton crop is able to use leftover nitrogen from the previous corn production. Compared to other states, Kansas has a shorter growing season and the area is too cold for insects, such as the boll weevil, although other insects and disease have been problems.
Although it costs more to harvest cotton, the net returns are $100 to $120 an acre more than corn, Garetson said. Other economic benefits include selling the seed to southwest Kansas dairies and beef operations.
Although an easy crop to grow, it's different than growing corn, he said, something area farmers have been growing for decades.
Cotton may be an option, said Kirk Heger, the irrigation group's president.
``Every farmer is looking for ways to conserve,'' Heger said. ``Cotton seems to be an alternative crop that can generate about the same net revenue as corn and take less water, and the acreage keeps increasing. We are going to have to start conserving water before we are faced with a bad situation.''
For Garetson, growing cotton was the best idea the family operation has had since he and his brother came back to farm 10 years ago. This year, the farm averaged between 850 to 1,200 tons an acre.
``The gross returns are greater or the same as corn production,'' he said. ``And obviously the No. 1 issue is preserving our natural resources. That includes the decline of the aquifer.''
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