13 Virtual Field Trip – Southwest Kansas Farm Tour
Recommended Reading
This virtual tour features a farmer explaining the conservation practices he and his brothers use on their operation to conserve soil and water on both irrigated and rain-fed fields. A relevant extension publication is Efficient Crop Water Use in Kansas (Presley et al. 2012). In addition, the Important Agricultural Soil Properties (Rogers et al. 2015a) and Agricultural Crop Water Use (Rogers et al. 2015b) extension publications serve as excellent primers on efficient crop water use.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this laboratory you will:
- Identify and describe soil and water conservation practices used in southwest Kansas
- Highlight the lessons learned from the Dust Bowl and how that translates to conservation practices used in that area in modern agriculture
Materials
Introduction
Southwest Kansas, along with southeast Colorado, northeast New Mexico, and the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles was the epicenter of the Dust Bowl during the 1930s. Since then there has been many changes to agronomic practices, advances in soil science and soil conservation strategies, and great improvements to irrigation pump technology that has allowed this area centered over the Olgallala aquifer to continue agriculture in many ways that is vastly different from agriculture leading up to and during the Dust Bowl. In this ride along farm tour of the Rome operation near Hugoton, Kansas, Dave Rome gives an overview of the practices he and his brothers use to manage water, soil erosion, soil fertility, weeds, and more on both irrigated and rain-fed fields. The video features questions and commentary from aTom Roth, retired Kansas State Agronomist with the USDA-NRCS, and Colby Moorberg, Associate Professor of Soil Science in the Kansas State University Department of Agronomy.
Virtual Tour Video
Discussion
In place of a traditional laboratory report, for this virtual tour you will be either having a discussion in class, or be posting to a virtual discussion through your learning management system. Please contribute to that discussion by responding to the questions listed below.
Questions
- Identify and describe at least two water conservation practices Dave Rome mentioned he and his brother’s are using on their fields.
- Identify and describe at least two soil conservation practices Dave Rome mentioned he and his brother’s are using on their fields.
- The Rome operation is near Hugoton, Kansas, which was in the heart of the Dust Bowl. Based on your understanding of the Dust Bowl are some lessons learned from that environmental disaster and how does that translate into practices being used by the Romes?
- What was on thing that surprised you as you watched this virtual tour?
References
Presley, D., D. Shoup, J. Holman, and A. Schlegel, eds. 2012. Efficient Crop Water Use in Kansas. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/Item.aspx?catId=363&pubId=15559.
Rogers, D. H., J. Aguilar, I. Kisekka, P. L. Barnes, and F. R. Lamm. 2015a. Agricultural Crop Water Use. 12. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/Item.aspx?catId=363&pubId=18185.
Rogers, D. H., J. Aguilar, I. Kisekka, P. L. Barnes, and F. R. Lamm. 2015b. Important Agricultural Soil Properties. 8. Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/Item.aspx?catId=363&pubId=18183.
