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Water Quality, Conservation, Drought and Irrigation
Water Quality, Conservation, Drought and Irrigation
The publications and other resources in this area address water
use, soil moisture management, water quality, and water conservation.
Topics range from created wetlands to choosing water-use-efficient
crops to water quality in organic production to irrigation management.
This section addresses the close relationship between agricultural
production, soil moisture, crop and livestock water use, and water
resources. As anyone who has tried to farm during a prolonged drought
can testify, crop production depends on good management of soil
moisture, whether from rain or supplemental irrigation. Livestock
need clean water for healthy and productive growth. Yet, crop and
livestock production can harm water quality unless good soil and
water conservation practices are in use. Farmers and ranchers concerned
with environmental degradation and climate change will find helpful
recommendations in these ATTRA publications, and at the resource
links listed in them, and in the Further Resources list,
below.
ATTRA Publications and Resources
NOTE: Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat
PDFs. Download
Acrobat Reader.
Drought Presentations
Since droughts can occur at any time, farmers and ranchers should
manage accordingly.
The first three PowerPoint presentations focus on how to manage
your cropland, pastures, or rangeland in good years, in order to
minimize the impacts of drought when it occurs. The other three
presentations discuss management practices that may be used during
or following a drought. The Resource Guide provides
a comprehensive text and Web-based materials, listed according
to topics covered in the PowerPoint presentations.
These presentations
may be viewed on your computer as self-study or information guides
or may be projected and used in training sessions.
We welcome
your feedback on these materials. Please send
us a message and
let us know how you used this information, whether it was useful,
and any changes or corrections you can recommend.
Power
Point Presentations
- Drought Introduction [PDF
/ 354 kb]
An introduction
to droughts, impacts on soils, crops, and animals with an overview
of management practices to lessen the impacts of drought.
- Soil Health and Drought [PDF
/ 812 kb]
Soil management
and tillage practices to conserve water and maintain conditions
for productive crop and forage growth during droughts.
- Pasture Health and Drought Protection [PDF
/ 599 kb]
Rotational
grazing practices and forage management to protect pasture
resources prior to, during, and following a drought.
- Irrigation [PDF
/ 673 kb]
Sustainable irrigation practices
and methods for protecting soil and water quality when using
irrigation.
- Pasture and Rangeland Management during Drought [PDF /
611 kb]
Supplement
feeding practices, toxic plants, toxic syndromes associated
with drought, animal management and selective culling to reduce
stress on land resources.
- Water, Heat Stress, and Drought [PDF
/ 537 kb]
Animal
water needs, water quality concerns, relationships between
water quality, feed quality, and water consumption. Factors
affecting heat stress and practices for minimizing it.
Drought Resource
Guide [HTML]
A comprehensive list of text and Web-base resources organized
according to topics addressed in the Power Point presentations.
This list also provides links to climate monitoring information,
drought-tolerant plant lists, and drought disaster relief programs.
State-specific drought information and drought programs are provided
at the end of this document.
Links
to Other Water Quality and Conservation Information
Water Quality Protection
USDA/NRCS Water
Quality Assessment & Monitoring
Water Resources of the United States,
USGS
US Environmental Protection Agency: Watersheds
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service:
Water
National Agricultural Library Water Quality Information Center
Laws and Regulations, Policy and Guidance Documents, and Legislation,
US EPA Department of Water
Riparian Protection
Streambank
Stewardship: A Saskatchewan Riparian Project
Cows and
Fish. Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Program
Riparian
Areas: Functions and Strategies for Management
Water,
Grass & Livestock: An
Annotated Bibliography of Riparian Grazing Publications
Aquaponics and Aquaculture
Aquaculture Network Information Center
North Central Regional Aquaculture Center
Southern Regional Aquaculture Center
Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center
Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture
World Aquaculture Society
Global Aquaculture Alliance
Livestock and Drought
BEHAVE : Behavioral Education
for Human, Animal, Vegetation, and Ecosystem Management
Animal
Response to Drought. Drought Management on Range and Pastureland (PDF)
Planning
for Beef Cattle Operations in the Face of Drought (PDF)
Poisonous Plants and other Plant Toxins
Coping with Drought
Calculate Forage during droughts
Irrigation
Irrigation
Scheduling Checkbook Method
Soil
Water Monitoring and Measurement
Environmental
Impact of Irrigation: A Review (PDF / 536K)
Irrigation
Water Quality Standards and Salinity Management Strategies (PDF)
Rainwater Harvesting
Texas
Guide to Rainwater Harvesting (PDF)
Water Protection Environmental Organizations
Groundwater Foundation
Audubon
American Rivers
River Network
Water Environment Federation
Climate and Weather Information
National Weather Service
NOAA/USDA-Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin
National
Drought Mitigation Center
Last Updated September 14, 2008
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