Goals of the Mobile Irrigation Lab

The goal of the Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) program is to provide educational programs and technical assistance to Kansas agricultural producers. The Mobile Irrigation Lab has two major components: 1.)Irrigation decision support software and training 2.)In-field evaluation of center pivot irrigation nozzle packages.

The MIL classroom allows on-site hands-on educational activities with specific emphasis on use of computer software. The MIL equipment is used to conduct in-field evaluations of center pivot systems and to collect in-field irrigation and cropping system information. Specific educational and technical assistance activities include:

Irrigation Management

KanSched, an ET based irrigation scheduling program, has been developed and is available to aid irrigators in scheduling. Hands-on computer training will be offered to producers. KanSched2 is a new release that has upgraded features and capabilities

Irrigation System Evaluation

The MIL team has developed techniques that are used to evaluate the distribution uniformity of center pivots for both above-canopy and in-canopy nozzle packages. IrriGages were developed to aid above-canopy evaluations as part of the MIL program.

Irrigation Energy

FuelCost or on-line tools can be used to evaluate pumping plant efficiency or energy alternatives.

Limited Irrigation

The Crop Water Allocator is a software program available to irrigators wanting to evaluate the best crop or mix of crops for a limited water supply. The program contains research based yield functions for typically irrigated crops in western Kansas. The program allows the producer to enter their own production costs