Kansas Agriculture Is Working to Protect the Ogallala Aquifer

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Most plants and animals survive only days without water, making it perhaps the most essential element on earth. Water conservation is crucial to ensuring we continue to have a safe, plentiful supply and for Kansas, that means protecting the Ogallala Aquifer.

Kansas State University researchers, farmers and other experts take a multidisciplinary approach in their quest to protect the Ogallala Aquifer, an immense underground reservoir supplying groundwater to portions of eight states.

“Water conservation is a big phrase that doesn’t have to mean big changes,” says Jonathan Aguilar, associate professor and water resource engineer for K-State Research and Extension.

See more: K-State College of Agriculture Identifies New Cash Crops

While agricultural irrigation uses water in Kansas, the nation’s total acreage of irrigated grass for lawns, parks, golf courses and other landscapes is three times the amount of water used nationally to irrigate corn.

“This shows that change starts in our own yards and on our farms,” Aguilar says.

Waste Not, Want Not with Water

A group of producers in northwestern Kansas is making even more significant contributions to conserving the Ogallala Aquifer with the Sheridan 6 Local Enhanced Management Area, called LEMA.

“It’s a poster child of locally driven water conservation that works,” Aguilar says. “These producers voluntarily reduced water usage for irrigation to slow the decline of the groundwater level in their area.”

See more: Irrigation Practices Increase Yields for Row-Crop Farmers

Brett Oelke serves as president of the board of directors for Sheridan 6 LEMA Groundwater Management District 4. His family also farms 9,000 acres, a third of which is irrigated.

“The LEMA works like a speed limit, but what it limits is the amount of water being pumped,” Oelke says.

Farmers within that high-priority area, which is roughly 99 square miles, petitioned the state to self-govern water usage, and in 2013, the LEMA was created.

“We reevaluate our progress every five years, and 2023 began our third renewal period,” he says. “We’ve found it to be not only environmentally sustainable but also economically efficient. We’re cutting back on water, fertilizer and plants, but our return on investment is often higher.”

See more: Water Conservation Efforts Refresh Northwest Kansas

A study conducted at the end of the first renewal period found the program reduced the area’s total groundwater use by 23%, a rate that could potentially add 20 years to the life of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Water Smart Kansas Sorghum

Water conservation research is becoming more popular across Kansas agriculture from conservation to crop cultivation.
Sorghum is a top crop for Kansas agriculture, producing $1.1 billion in cash receipts in 2022. Its multiple uses range from food to livestock feed to ethanol.

“Now, researchers are making sorghum more water smart,” says Sarah Sexton-Bowser, managing director of the Center for Sorghum Improvement. “Kansas leads the nation in sorghum production, and sorghum is predominantly grown in dryland areas that overlay the Ogallala Aquifer.”

It’s a staple of farm crop rotation in water-stressed production areas, so making it more water-efficient and productive strengthens the aquifer, too.

“The K-State molecular sorghum breeding program is developing DropXL sorghum, which conserves water during hot, dry periods and maximizes water resources for grain yield,” she says. “It’s an exciting technology investment from the state and Kansas Sorghum to advance yield potential under water scarcity.”

See more: What is Sorghum?

Oelke wishes programs like these had started 20 years before they did.

“Irrigation is the lifeblood of farming in Kansas,” Oelke says. “So protecting the Ogallala Aquifer for future generations is essential.”

Water Wise Farming from Sheridan 6 LEMA

Sheridan 6 LEMA recommends water conservation practices for farmers conserving water.

• Apply water when crops most need it, keeping in mind critical water periods.
• Implement deficit irrigation, as many crops can grow with less water.
• Improve irrigation efficiency since it’s recommended to update systems every decade.
• Invest in new innovations, such as remote technology or soil moisture sensors.
• Rotate or replace high water-use crops like corn with ones that use less, like pearl millet, cotton, sunflower or sorghum.