Horticulture Industry

The Horticulture Industry in Delaware

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Last Wednesday, Tracy Wootten and Valan Budischak came to talk to the class about the horticulture industry in Delaware. They mostly dealt with aesthetic plants used in residencies, so things like flowers and lawn care.

Regarding the cultivation of flowers, the two went over the process of planting a flower to the consumer’s purchase.  By the time the flower is bought, it likely has spent it’s past in many different places because different locations have different specialties when it comes to the life cycle of the flower (i.e. different places for potting and initial planting of the seed).

Other that lawn care and flowers, the green industry is involved with the management of places like parks and public areas. In these places, the industry is responsible for things such as removal of invasive species and keeping some forms of vegetation at bay. Something interesting is that the industry is responsible for keeping grasses away from railroads in order to prevent fires from the friction from the train.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Commercial Production, Horticulture Industry, Internships, Issues and Controversies, Production Agriculture, Weeds

Understanding Today’s Agriculture, AGRI130 Guest Lecture #6- Horticulture/Greens Industry

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On October 16, 2019 Ms. Valann BUDISCHAK & Tracy WOOTTEN spoke to us on the Horticulture/Greens Industry.  This was the first guest lecture where the guest speakers were actually at the Georgetown campus, instead of the Newark campus.  Each speaker took turns, giving information on their professional journey as well as current information on the industry around the state.

First to speak was Ms. WOOTEN. She informed the class that she had an extensive background in agriculture, with her grandparents having farmed ad she herself growing up on a farm.  She majored in Plant Science and Vegetable Education to become a horticulture agent for home horticulture.  She earned a BS in Plant Science where she observed 1/3 of the samples that were brought in suffered from ‘environmental problems’, i.e.,  problems due to how the plant grew on the weather , rather than disease or bacteria.

Next, Ms. BUDISCHAK spoke on her background.  She took a very different path that Ms. WOOTEN, working at Black and Decker for 14years and commuting between Baltimore and New York before deciding to make a change.  She decided to work for the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Organization before managing grants for the Delaware Dept. of Transportation (DelDOT) and then becoming an extension agent for the University of Delaware.  She then volunteered for the Botanic Garden of which she eventually became director.

After those brief biographies, the two speakers told us about nurseries.  First, that nurseries are usually selling products for the home garden- over 60% of sales a container plants.  Most nurseries are located in Maryland, though there are a few noteworthy establishments in the first state.  Many nurseries are plug and container nurseries.  Many nurseries sell floriculture crops of bedding and garden plants- the biggest purportedly in Lanesboro, PA.  Cut flowers may even be sold at CSA’s.

A nursey might sell broadleaf evergreens, trees, and shrubs- ‘ball and burlap’ evergreens that begin as cuttings.  A garden nursery might sell field or container plants, plants for garden store and centers, and zero-scaping for low-water, native plants.  Sod and turf nurseries may sell bent grass- used on golf courses- or tall fescue and Kentucky Blue- used for home lawns. Sod generates $13.8 billion in revenue.

Other retailers might earn revenue by selling videos and how-tos for independent garden centers.  Others my reach consumers through radio shows, displays, and unique offers.

Certain garden centers specialize in particular services. The Gateway Garden Center for example, specializes in ponds, as landscape, providing consumers with the service of install and maintenance.  Another garden center might only market major brands like Proven Winner brand, sell only annuals, or sell directly from growers. Sposato Landscape is one of the top three landscaping business in the US, located right here in Delaware. Sposato Landscape has implemented a container rental program where last seasons’ planters may be replaced according to consumer.  Other noteworthy garden centers include Coast Garden Center, RSC Landscaping, Ronney’s Garden Center, Lakeside Greenhouse, & Bess’ Buds.  These garden centers will aid consumers with the name recognition of plants and provide care instructions and ‘How-to’ tutorials. Though landscaping is a big industry there are a small number of garden centers.

There is a growing market within the industry for indoor plants.  Landscapers will go into large corporate buildings and office parks to maintain or change out potted plants.  Landscaping is a very science-oriented field. However, in addition to helping to design and build, a landscaper may also be expected to maintain by handling mowing, pest, and invasive control, fertilization, lighting, and water features. A landscaper may also use soil conservation techniques such as stormwater management, irrigation, and hardscaping, or by assessing plant health.  One such technique, accessing the health of plants, namely trees, is handled by Delaware Arbor Care.

Those jobs are not without risks however.  While working on some landscape maintenance, a Mr. Steve JOHNSON, a nationally-known plant pathologist from New Jersey dies via tree limb.    The limb fell from a pine with shallow roots due to the sandy soil of the area.  The pine was part of a stretch of trees in a homeowner’s property that posed a risk to the people living and working there.  Because of this, insurance had the rest of the trees taken down.

Landscaping is a large component of ‘Land Management’, particularly of parks, schools.  The largest landholder in Delaware is DelDOT.  DelDOT’s responsibilities include enhancing highways with warm season grasses & meadows.  DelDOT does this by conducting minimal invasive management in the roadside, planting pollination strips flanked by mowed edges to cut down on labor.  These mowed edges show the public that maintenance is indeed ongoing, while giving a less intensely manicured look that a simple mowed strip would provide.  These plantings help curb the spread of invasive weeds like Japanese Knotweed, though the speakers note the mowed turf itself is not so healthy as water runs over it as opposed to seeping into the water table. Creating rain gardens & bioswales is an effective solution, as these improve water quality by filtering run-off.

In addition to highways, DelDOT also has a part in maintaining railroad tracks.  By maintaining the vegetation around the tracks they prevent obstruction and mitigate fire risks by cutting back encroaching plants to prevent ‘railspark fires’, which pose a risk to farmers and can burn crops.  The risk of fire also allows them to impose burning bans.  They will also scan for and remove invasive weeds.

Lastly, DelDOT contributes to the management of parks and recreation areas, like sportsfields.  Replacing turf is often cheaper than replacing mature trees and shrubs, as such, sod is a big component of volume purchases.  When designing and maintaining these fields there is a choice to be made between cool and warm season turf grasses or simply synthetic groundcover. Warm season grasses grow with rhizomes & stolons that knit together & create a smoother playing surface than cool season grasses, which grow clumped in bunches and spread via seed.  To keep the fields in optimum condition, they must be aerated, especially in high-traffic areas such as those found in front of goals, where compaction of the soil causes sand to crust on clay pockets.  To amend the soil, compost may been used.

To conclude, the lecture ended with the speakers informing the class on the various in-state opportunities for anyone who might be interested in pursuing landscaping.  To begin, it is helpful to know certain definitions such as annual, perennial, and bi-annual.  An annual plant grows in one season, i.e., Impatiens plants, while a bi-annual plant has a two-year lifespan, and lastly, a perennial dies and comes back, for example, the invasive Japanese Knotweed where pieces of the plant may break off and it’s underground runners can generate a new plant.  In Delaware, a license is required to sell plants, but for the average homeowners, there are tools to inform them of the best ways to manage their properties.  For example, a rain garden cannot be created from, ‘wet spots on the lawn’, but rather, must be able to drain.  This information and more is available from Delaware Livable Lawns, a program that helps homeowners and lawncare professionals mitigate run-off from nutrient applications from drifting into waterways.  In addition, they also have 2.5 month internship gardens.  For professionals, there’s the Delaware Nursery & Landscape Association (DNLA) at https://www.dnlaonline.org/.

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Livestock industry in Delaware

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Dan Severson talked to the class about Delaware’s specific livestock. In Delaware the number one livestock production is chicken. Out of beef, pork, lamb, goat, and veal, chicken is the only industry to see an increase in average consumption per capita since 1985. The need for lamb, goat, and veal has been decreasing due to less demand from the consumer. Within the state, there are 33 hundred hogs and 21 dairy farms with a total of 4500-5000 cows. Goats located in the state are mainly used for meat production. Other goat products are not a high market demand and there is no certified milking facility for goats or sheep in Delaware. When it comes to sheep production in Delaware, there are less than 25 sheep per farm. Meat production sheep are easier to raise compared to raising sheep for wool mainly due to sheering. Only a handful of people can properly sheer a sheep within the state making the wool industry hard to get into.

Dan was also very adamant about the consumers’ ability to control the livestock and overall food industry. In the United States, 97% of a household income is spent on food and businesses know this. Businesses in the food industry deploy marketing tactics and techniques to allure consumers to buy. Labels such as “organic”, “all-natural”, and “GMO-free” are used to persuade consumers into thinking what they are buying is the “best”. Dan challenged the class to look at food labels at our next grocery visit to see if there were any absurd labels on packaging. For example my trip to the store I found a “veggies on-the-go” squeeze pouch for babies advertising it was gluten-free, even though the only ingredients were zucchini, spinach, and banana.

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Delaware’s Green Industry

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Tracy Wootten and Valan Budischak came into class to talk about Delaware’s green industry. This industry includes producers, retailers, landscapers, land management and everything in between. As of 2014, the horticultural product sales totaled to almost 22 million dollars, needless to say, it is a popular and still growing industry. Producers in the industry produce floriculture crops, which include bedding and garden plants, cut and potted flowering plants, foliage plants and other propagative materials. Producers also work to provide nursery crops like evergreens, shade trees, shrubs, ornamentals and fruit, and nut trees.  These can all be found in nursery productions, commonly seen in greenhouses and high tunnels. A growing niche is the use of greenhouses for cut flowers for local florist sales. A major growing market for florists right now is orchids.

Delaware’s green industry is also helping in aid of land management such as removal and prevention of invasive species. Not only is this done in state parks and forests, but Delaware’s Department of Transportation also helps in managing land along highways. A new initiative is pushing for more native wildflowers to be planted along roads to help with driver fatigue. A healthy ecosystem with native species is the first step in preventing invasive species and other unwanted pests. The green industry does so much more, such as helping businesses set up rain gardens, help create green industry education in schools and even helping to keep golf courses fresh and green. The industry is working hard to make Delaware green again.

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Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak Guest Lecture

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Last Wednesday, Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a guest lecture on the Green Industry in Delaware. The Green Industry comprises producers, retailers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses, and suppliers. The Green Industry primarily produces plants and trees for home gardening, among many other diverse things. In 2014, Delaware cash receipts for greenhouses and nurseries totaled around $21 million.

The majority of nursery production, approximately 62 percent, is  devoted to containerized plants or trees. Ball and burlap production comes in second with 28 percent. Bare root makes up a further 13 percent, with field grow bags, balled and potted plants, and in ground containers making up the majority of the remainder of nursery production. Evergreens, deciduous trees, shrubs, and ornamentals, fruit and nut plants and Christmas trees are examples of crops grown in a nursery.

Floriculture crops include bedding/garden plants, cut cultivated greens, cut flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, and others. Floriculture and nursery crops are most frequently used in outdoor home gardens.

Enhancing Delaware Highways was also discussed. This program aims to improve the scenery on Delaware highways by planting meadows, doing nothing, or performing minimal management.

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Dan Severson Guest Lecture – Sean Michael

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On Monday, Dan Severson lectured the class on the Delaware Livestock industry. I was not aware that world red meat consumption is down, and poultry consumption is up. This is a benefit for Delaware farmers because the chicken industry is booming here. Next, I learned about food security, and how in the United States we spend less than ten percent of our income on food, compared to fifty percent in other parts of the world. One thing that shocked me from this presentation is that we as a country cannot meet the goat demand. Because of the diversity in America, there are many ethnic preferences for goats, and goat farmers simply cannot keep up. Sadly, dairy farms in America are on a decline, and there are only 21 left in the state of Delaware. One organic product people are buying more of is honey, and the industry is hot. Mr. Severson finished with talking about being a cooperative extension and how it heavily relies on people skills.

Horticulture Industry

Delaware’s Green Industry

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On Monday October 16th, 2019 Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a lecture to our class on Delaware’s Green Industry and its influence on our markets and state. In 2014 Delaware’s Green Industry had product sales around 22,000,000, showing an increase in sales from the previous years. This particular industry is found many diverse areas such as turf and sod, golf courses, greenhouses, florist, Christmas tree farms, etc. The presenters emphasized strongly on the benefits of a healthy lawn at your home. Having a healthy lawn helps the environment by providing a stronger filtration system for water. A yard that is well managed helps the environment by providing us with cleaner water. Having this lecture really showed my classmates and I that agriculture is more than livestock and crops, it’s found in everyone’s yard.

 

Horticulture Industry

Tracy Wootten & Valann Budischak Guest Lecture

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Hearing Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak talk was so cool. I didn’t know that there was such a job as a master gardener. But, now that I know it is a job and it sounds like an amazing job. I love that Tracy said that she calls herself a plant detective that is such a awesome title. It is a title that definitely makes sense because sometimes in my garden I feel like a detective when I’m trying to figure out what is wrong with my plants. I also always wondered about why states don’t try to make all the side areas more dense with flowers and high grass. So I am super happy to hear and see that  there are programs in place to make the highways better for the environment and look better overall. I never realized that state parks would need a land manager but it definitely makes sense to have one now that I think about it.

Horticulture Industry

Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak on Delaware’s Horticulture Industry

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On Wednesday, October 16th, Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a guest lecture on the importance of the Delaware green industry. This industry, according to a 2014 estimate in sales, accounts for over 21,774,000 dollars in the state and supplies jobs to thousands of Americans as producers, retailers, landscapers, and cultivation equipment suppliers, etc. The most popular items in production are containerized floriculture and nursery crops worth over 13.8 billion dollars. These consist of bedding and garden plants, potted plants, evergreen trees, cut greens, ornamental plants and many more. The containerized plants are most profitable, accounting for 62.4 percent of purchases in Delaware. B & B trees come in second with 28.7 percent in production. We were shown many pictures relating to these businesses with mass production of annuals in greenhouses, and open-acre farms for evergreens, Christmas trees, as well as other trees and shrubs. Some may ask, “What is the green industry?”, It is the retailers and suppliers. From large companies like Lowe’s and Home Depot to the small ones like Cordrey Companies and Ronny’s Garden World, these businesses provide many varieties of plants that people of Delaware know and love.

Horticulture Industry

Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak’s Lecture class

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On October 16, 2019, Tracy Wooten and Valann Budischak came to my class lecture us about the Green Industry in Delaware. When I hear green, I thought it is just about the plants. But I was wrong. It is more interesting than I though. Green industry includes that nursery business, landscape design and maintenance, land management and so on. It is similar with other industries that many people play different roles. It has producers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses suppliers and others. Horticultural Product Sales is a big part of green industry in Delaware. It creates over 21.7 million dollars sales. When Ms. Wootten and Ms. Budischak showed us a picture of railroad landscape, professor Issacs raised a question that why weed is not allowed to grow on the railroad. It is because the train will pass through with high speed and produce elevated temperature in the surface of rail which will cause fire hazard when weed is growing in there. To sum up, I learned some interesting information about green industry.

Horticulture Industry

Tracy Wooten and Valann Budischak: Dleaware’s Green Industry

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On October 16th, Tracy Wooten and Valann Budischak spoke on behalf Delaware’s green industry. During this lecture, they discussed the different set ups from nurseries,  and different careers that are included in this industry. The two types of Nurseries that they spoke about were Field Nurseries and plug nurseries. A field nursery is set up like an open ceiling store where people can go and purchase the different types of plants they need. There is more of a variety here. In a plug nursery, it contains one breed of plant that is usually used for mass production. The percentage for plants grown in  nurseries currently is at 62.4%. As for businesses involved in the green industry, there is the Cordrey companies (which primarily focuses on landscaping, and various nurseries, such as Ronnie’s garden World and Gateway garden center. But most importantly, with these businesses dealing with the green industry with  the public, there are specific things growers may be required to participate in. For starters, some landscapers are hired by DelDot to maintain care of land around high ways, to keep it looking clean and beautiful. They want to reduce the amount of driver’s fatigue, and if the land around the driver looks interesting they’ll pay more attention to what’s up ahead of them. From this presentation, the biggest takeaway is that there are many jobs in the Green Indrustry, outseide of only planting  plants and making the land look nice. People have to sell the plants to the growers, people have to design what’s going to go into the landscape jobs, and people have to regulate what is the best for growers to do, in order to protect the environment, as well as supply the highest quality of plants.

Livestock

Livestock Industry of Delaware

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October 21st, 2019 Dan Severson talked to the class about the overview of the livestock industry in Delaware. Delaware has an economic impact of 8 million dollars. Delaware has 2,500 farms. 40% of Delaware farms are land area, and 29% of that land area is corn and beans. The Agriculture products sold to consumers make up 3.5 million in profit. 174,000 acres of farm are enrolled to Agriculture Land Preservation District, and 134,000 land is preserved. Delaware ranks first in U.S value of Agriculture production per acre, leaving California to rank second. Go Delaware! We are number one in lima beans. 98% of Delaware farms are family-owned. We spend 9.7% of our income on food. Poultry is the one food production that has increased over the years, the rest like pork, beef, lamb, and goat are less. Delaware has 235 cattle farms. We have about 14,000 cows in the whole state, making a 6-million-dollar profit. We have 55 pig farms, making that 3,300 pigs total in Delaware, making that a 2-million-dollar profit. There are 89 sheep farms, and about 179 sheep’s total in Delaware. In Delaware there are 91 goat meat farms with 1201 goats, 34 goat milk farms with 320 goats, and 5 angora with 15 goats. That makes about 81,000 in profits. In Delaware there are only 21 dairy farms with 4.500 dairy cows. Dairy production is dropping tremendously, even in the U.S. In Delaware we have four creamery’s that make ice cream with dairy. Learning about the livestock industry is so fascinating, to know how much animals can really affect us.

Livestock

Livestock Lecture by Dan Severson

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Dan Severson is the New Castle County Cooperative Extension agent and on 10/21 he came and lectured about the Livestock industry in Delaware. He started off by talking about Delaware farms, number of farms, and how much they produce. He spoke about Delaware’s Agriculture Land Preservation Districts and how the farmers sell their land rights to the government so that they don’t build on that land. He discussed how WWII affected livestock production and why spikes in livestock production happened. Beef and pork consumption is down since 1985 but chicken and poultry are up since then. Pigs, Cattle, Goat and Sheep numbers in Delaware have gone down. The number of livestock is being shipped out to other countries and other states to be produced. Lastly, he talked about trends and marketing. Niche markets, like lotion from goats or ice cream from the milk of cows work for small markets in order to be successful and make money. For our homework, we had to find something in the grocery store that is labeled as “Non-GMO”. I found a caramel dipping sauce that was labeled as “Non-GMO” even though caramel is essentially butter and sugar condensed down.

Commercial Production, History, Precision Ag, Production Agriculture

Mr. James ADKINS on, ‘The Importance of Irrigation & Water Management in Delaware’

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On October 2, 2019 Mr. James ADKINS spoke to us on irrigation practices across the state of Delaware and how they’ve evolved over time.  Mr. ADKINS has a Bachelors degree from the University of Maryland and works at the UD Carvel Research Center and is an Extension Specialist with fruits and vegetables.  He also worked with Mr. KEE- the man who brought PictSweet to Delaware along with mechanized pickling.  Additionally, Mr. ADKINS works with equipment, technology, and irrigation nationally and internally, as well as handling irrigation on Warrington Farm.

The talk began with a brief history on irrigation in relation to the systems used today.  Only 20% of the world’s farmland is irrigated but 40% of the world’s food supply is produced with irrigation.  Mr. ADKINS traces irrigations humble beginnings to the Towers of Babylon in Machu Picchu, originally pumped by slaves.  Irrigation systems requiring man-power could be found in other ancient civilization throughout the world, as well as animal, wind, and water power.

One of the first methods of irrigation Mr. ADKINS discussed was flood irrigation.  Also called gravity/furrow irrigation, it is used when a weir controls the water flow.  This type of irrigations works best on heavy (capable of holding a lot of water), mostly level soil where 3-4inches of water is applied per application- Delaware is not level enough to employ this method.  In California, however, each farm receives this type of water delivery method 4 times per year with a 4 inch application each time.  Siphon tubes are used to run water across a ditch with grated pipe, a system used by 30% of U.S. farms.  A canal manager/operator oversees the transfer of water between farms as farmers upstream receive the water, then that tailwater is re-used on the next farm down. Mr. ADKINS tells us that there are stockholders in canal water- reiterating the points made by Mr. KEE about the complicated water rights in California.  The Homestead Act and combined with the controversy around who owns what means farmers may not even own the water underneath their property.

After WW2 came the advent of the pressurized sprinkler system. With this system came the second method of irrigation, using hand-moved pipe.  This pipe was made from aluminum, originally sourced from scrapyards in Washington and Oregon where airplane manufacture had been done.  This system was often used in the western U.S.  A variation of this system, side-roll wheeled-pipe, could be hooked to 150-200ft risers underground and can be seen in use in Idaho.  This system doesn’t work well with corn.

Another pressurized system, the traveling gun, can be used for corn, soybeans, wheat, and other agronomic crops.  This device has the spraying power of 10-20 fire hose in pounds per square inch (psi) of pressure.  This force is not evenly applied, however, and the machine itself requires lots of power and fuel, meaning it has negative energy efficiency.  This device is often used on sports fields, running 6hours at a time to cover 10acres.  It is a poor choice to give water to newly plant, fragile, and shallow rooted crops.

Frank ZYBACH’s center pivot irrigation, uses an anemometer powered by water.  The crops it is used on are often planted in circles.  Mr. ADKINS showed us examples of it’s use in Nebraska, but it is broadly used, even in largely desert countries like Saudi Arabia.  The system is used in Delaware and works well with furrow planted crops.

The greatest percentage of irrigated land exists in Asia, where 68% of the farmland receives water via surface water irrigation like dams and hydroelectric.  Half of the 60 million acres of U.S. farmland that are irrigated use flood (surface water) irrigation. Mr. ADKINS informed the class that the first source of irrigation is often surface water before acquirers are sourced for water instead- aquifers require more pressure to pump water and therefore more money.  Most of the irrigated farms in Asia are small, encompassing less than 5acres.  90% of India’s freshwater is used for agricultural irrigation compared to 65% of China’s freshwater.

After Asia, America comes in at a mere 17% with it’s irrigated farmland, followed by Europe at 9%, Africa at 5%m and Oceana at 1%.  The U.S.’s irrigated farm area expanded rapidly from 1950 to 2000, going from 250 acres to 700 acres, or 280% in 50years.  This is staggering, compared to the 10% increase from 2000 to 2010.  Despite the more modern methods of irrigation utilized in the U.S., many aquifers are struggling.  An example would be the large Oklahoma state high plains aquifer that is being depleted faster than it can naturally recharge- the rivers going through aren’t given the chance to percolate. Globally 15-35% of irrigation withdrawals are projected to be unsustainable. In California, irrigation withdrawals were a mere 19% in 2005, with almond trees allowed to die as irrigation water is diverted to the city for people to drink instead.

In Delaware, 30% of the farmland, or 15, 000 acres is irrigated.  In Sussex County Delaware, 50% of the farmland is irrigated.  In the older properties of the county, many wells are hand-dug and only go as deep as 40ft, when modern wells are often much deeper.  Controversy often arises from citizens believing the neighboring farms center-pivot system is pumping out their drinking water, however this is often incorrect as domestic-use wells are deeper than irrigation wells and often tap into different aquifers because the aquifers are ‘stacked’ underground.  Companies like Tidewater and Artesian can capitalize on these water disputes by promising new residents in their brand new developments, ‘fresh, uncontaminated drinking water’.  When consumers buy a property they purchase water allocation rights, meaning the cone of influence to off-set their neighbor can’t exceed a foot of their well water.

Irrigation can also give locales on brink of disaster a second chance.  In Ken BURNS’ documentary, ‘The Dust Bowl’ an Oklahoma city is irrigated after a lack of rainfall due to climactic change and the farmland is able to be recovered.  In Saudi Arabia, 16, 000ft. well are dug to pump acquirers in the desert and increase the countries food security in times of conflict.  Water desalinating technology is another expensive method used to bring water to the desert.

Lastly, Mr. ADKINS discussed ways in which aquifers are made more effective and efficient.  1 million gallons of water usage equals 10 households per year, 1.5 Olympic swimming pools, and 100 acres of corn in 1 day during the pollination stage. Much of the water applied to crops can be lost to the soil and air in a process referred to as evapotranspiration,or ET. Mr. ADKINS showed us an image of an old dike system where the aquifer was lined with concrete to prevent water loss from water seeping through the salt rock.  He shared an interesting anecdote in which, through his travels, he learned that Idaho kids can ride a raft down the river for 20miles to an overpass for recreation.  Certain cultivars, like corn, can use copious amounts of water- anywhere from 20-25inches, or an average of 22 in per year.  Crop coefficients can be measured and estimated based on crop and growth stage charts and taking variables like humidity, rainfall, and wind into consideration.  Increasingly high temperatures can make irrigation even less effective, as water is lost when plants are under heat stress.  In Delaware, the sprinkler, drip, and sub-surface irrigation may require more water usage in sandy soil, but still used less water overall that alternative methods.  In New Castle County, specific methods like drip irrigation can be better for the general soil type.

New irrigation technology was shown briefly at the end of the lecture. The Warrington Pivot works via SmartPhone and can be turned on remotely, creating added convenience and reducing the need for travel for farmers.  When using the corner system and center pivot, zone control can be employed to adjust the water distribution rates for varying soil types on different plots of land- also known as Variable rate irrigation, or VRI, a small system for an area f low variability can cost $25, 000 as opposed to upwards of $30-$40, 000 for a larger, more complex system.  To justify the expense, farmers use a free AGIS soil survey with records dating back to the 1940s to determine the needs of their property.  For additional support, farmers can seek the help of a Natural Resource Conservation Specialist.  Major soil variability will often occur near rivers and swamps, but any equipment for slight variability is usually used as a research tool, instead of a practical farming expense.

As the lecture lasted right up to the end of class, there was little in the way of closing statements or remarks.

Equipment & Engineering, Field Trips-Tours, Precision Ag

Hoober’s Field Trip

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I was unfortunately unable to attend the field trip, but after speaking with some classmates who were in attendance, I now have a better idea of what happened and what was learned during the trip.

It seems that this trip was all about technology and it’s importance in the lives of those involved in agriculture. Hoober’s is an agricultural equipment and machinery supplier; selling more traditional farm equipment as well as equipment used in precision agriculture. It is due to places like these that farmers are able to stay on the cutting edge of new technological developments, and because of this technology being supplied, farmers can do so much more in less time with less physical labor.

These technologies are very important for improving the lives of the farmer through reduced labor, increasing the amount of food through higher rates of harvest in the same amount of land, and doing so in an environmentally friendly way.

A Class Journal for UDel CANR AGRI 130