Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Ignoring the title pun, I can't help but laugh at this junk piece from down
the middle Rio Grande south of us. Your tax money at work!  Revolutionary
way of farming, sure. It's the old standard drip method. I know to use
surface drip instead because subsurface lines get clogged up and have to be
pulled up and cleaned every season, a killer labor cost. Plus subsurface
drip wicks up mineral salts making a crust on the surface, instead of
leaching down and out. Oh well, at least Sichler doesn't use any more
poisons than the average industrial grower ...

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
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http://dchieftain.com/news/90079-07-04-09.html

Udall drips with praise for San Antonio farm
Saturday, July 4, 2009


Sichlers utilize subsurface drip irrigation technology

Pilar Armstrong El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

Veteran San Antonio, N.M., farmers gave U.S. Sen. Tom Udall a crash course
in a revolutionary way of farming.

Udall applauded Paula and Chris Sichler's newly installed subsurface drip
irrigation system during a personal visit to Sichler Farms on Wednesday,
July 1. The new environment friendly system is credited with being more
water.

The Sichlers recently gave up their old way of irrigating and implemented
the new system on approximately 65 acres of vegetable crops. The United
States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service
reimbursed the Sichlers for two-thirds of the expense. The reimbursement
program is part of the 2006 Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

"Once a farmer uses this system they'll never go back to the old one," said
Sichler.

The farm's new irrigation system boasts a main pump station in which river
water is pumped through a system of drip tape. The drip tape is installed
underneath the root system of the crops. Each strip of tape is
approximately 2 inches in diameter and has a series of pinpoint-sized holes
along the center of the tape, which allows the water to seep through to
irrigate the crops.

Sichler keeps track of his crops' water usage by sight.

NRCS District Conservationist Michael Shivers said farmers using this
system could also utilize consumptive use charts, which illustrate how much
water is needed for specific crops. The Sichlers water their crops in
10-day sessions when the plants are relatively small. Once the plants start
bearing fruit they cut back water usage to every two days, said Sichler.

"The drip system also allows us to utilize rainfall so we can turn the
system off when it rains," Sichler explained. "With a traditional
irrigation system, it's a big mess."

Sichler further explained that in the past heavy rainfall flooded his
fields when he used a traditional irrigation system. The excess water
delayed the harvest of his chile crops by several days. The new system even
allows his family to harvest crops the day after a rain. Fertilizer and
pesticides used to kill insects are used more sparingly because of the
system's efficiency,

"You use less water and plants get what they need. It's more efficient,
cost effective and it uses less water," Udall said. "This is a great
system."

The senator spent some time admiring the Sichler's crops. The usage of
pesticides to kill insects was a concern of the senator. Sichler assured
Udall that the pesticides did not seep into the water table. The Sichlers
only spray enough pesticides to kill the most destructive insects,
explained Sichler. The senator also noted that the Sichler's hadn't worked
out all of the bugs.

"There's a bug right here," Udall said while examining the Sichlers' crops.

Sichler explained that he didn't want to kill certain types of bugs, such
as ladybugs, which are helpful. Ladybugs eat a lot of destructive bugs, he
said.

"Oh, so they're carnivores," exclaimed the senator as he gave the thumbs-up
sign.

The Sichlers plan to install the new system on an additional 50 acres by
this winter. The NRCS will reimburse the family at approximately $1,000 per
acre for this project.

Sichler hopes to have 200 acres of his farm utilizing the new system within
the next couple of years.

Sichler Farms currently sells their produce at two vegetable stands — one
in Los Lunas and the other in San Antonio, N.M.

parmstrong@dchieftain.com