Lower Rio Grande Valley Irrigation Area

Resource Concern: Water Quantity - Irrigation

Water management for irrigated land-inefficient or untimely utilization of irrigation water.

Primary Area of Concern:

Water availability in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is dependent upon storage in the two reservoirs, Falcon and Amistad. The available supply in these reservoirs has been very limited for several years. Allocations to agricultural irrigation have been restricted to allow for other uses. Improving the efficiency of irrigation systems reserves more water for additional irrigation or other uses and reduces the inherent salinity problem of the area. Applicable counties are:

Eligible Practices:

LEPA – Low Energy Precision Application. Land slope <1 percent on more than 50 percent of field.  Drop heights not to exceed 18 inches. Applicable only to row crops in circle.  Maximum nozzle spacing is 80 inches.
LESA – Low Elevation Spray Application. Land slope <3 percent on more than 50 percent of field.  Nozzle heights not to exceed 18 inches.  Maximum nozzle spacing is 80 inches.
LPIC – Low Pressure in Canopy Application. Land slope <3 percent on more than 50 percent of field. Nozzle heights generally range from 12 to 36 inches from ground, depending on crop.   Maximum nozzle spacing is 10 feet.
MESA – Mid-Elevation Spray Application. Nozzle heights typically 3 to 7 feet above ground with water applied above the crop.  Maximum nozzle spacing is 10 feet.

Antiquated high pressure sprinkler systems are defined as sideroll, hand move or big gun systems or any system that requires a operating nozzle pressure greater than 25 p.s.i.

Application Limitation for payment on units:

A field irrigated with any type of sprinkler system or scheduled to be converted to a sprinkler system is not eligible for Irrigation Land Leveling.

All practices will be installed according to the applicable standards and specifications in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG).

Cost Share Rates:

Limited Resource Farmer/Producer - 90 percent
Beginning Farmer/Rancher - 50 percent
All other categories - 50 percent

Cost list for the county will be used in determining the cost share dollars for the application.

Incentive Payment Levels:

Irrigation Water Management (449), (Acre), $10 per acre per year, maximum of 2 years.
This incentive is to encourage better management and scheduling of irrigation water applications. To receive the payment, a permanent water meter is required, soil moisture monitored in at least one location per field (or per 100 acres for fields larger that 100 ac.), and a scheduling system will be used by the irrigator. The irrigator will document evapotranspiration (ET) and soil moisture levels on at least a weekly basis; water applied per irrigation, and scheduling system used.

Residue Management, No-Till/Strip-Till (329) (Acre), Incentive, $20 per acre per year, maximum of 3 years OR Residue Management, Mulch-Till (345) or Ridge-Till (346), Incentive, $15 per acre per year, maximum of 3 years. This incentive is to implement a system of tillage and cultural practices that maintain crop residues on the soil surface year-round to conserve moisture. The system must be maintained on the same area for the consecutive years of the scheduled incentive. This incentive is only available for contracts with irrigation practices or IWM scheduled and must be on land that meets the irrigation history. See the Residue Management Incentive Fact Sheet, Lower Rio Grande Valley Irrigation Area.

Evaluation Criteria for 2007 EQIP

The following is an explanation of the evaluation criteria for resource concerns for 2006 EQIP.

Evaluation criteria will be utilized for the identified resource concern. At the time of application, the producer, with USDA assistance, will determine the resource concern. Only one resource concern can be used for each application.
The resource concern, Water Quantity, is applicable only on irrigated land that meets the irrigation history rule, i.e. irrigated two out of the last five years.

Application Screening Process

Only applications on land within the six county area listed above, that meets the irrigation history rule, are eligible under this resource concern. The Screening Tool will be completed with the person making the application. The screening process will place the application in a category - High, Medium, or Low. If more than one category is applicable to an application, then the application will be placed in the lower category. See the Lower Rio Grande Valley Irrigation Area Screening Tool.

Ranking Criteria

All category-High applications will be ranked. If funds are available after funding the category –High applications, then all applications in the next category will be ranked and approved until all funds are utilized.

Components of Practices by Units and Cost

Cost list for the county will be used in determining the cost share dollars for the application.