On-farm technology transfer for soybean and rice irrigation in Arkansas

Arkansas farmers harvested 3.3 million ha of crops in 1998, primarily soybean, rice, hay, cotton and winter wheat. In recent years, farmers have increased their irrigated cropland acreage, with approximately half of the 3.3 million ha irrigated in 1998. With the financial support of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, an on-farm technology transfer program to improve soybean irrigation was begun by Cooperative Extension Service personnel in 1996. A similar but smaller effort is being made in rice. Rather than trying to make each case fit some ideal, recommendations are very site-specific. On-farm demonstrations were conducted from 1996 through 1999 in 35 of the 44 Arkansas counties that produce soybeans and/or rice, involving 140 different farmers and 285 different fields. Strengths of the on-farm demonstrations have included a multiplier effect, spreading the technology from the demonstration field to many other fields in the area, and the tremendous amount of feedback from the producers.