ATLANTA, Ind., Feb. 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beck's is excited to announce a new water management study at the Southern IL Practical Farm Research (PFR)® site in Effingham, Illinois. This unique, multi-purpose study is designed to deliver farmers agronomic research on various tile installations, and their ability to effectively drain water as well as irrigate crops through the same system.
"Beck's PFR is dedicated to providing farmers with innovative research on new products and management practices to help increase yield and profitability on their farms," said Ryan McAllister, Practical Farm Research Director at Beck's. "We hope that the various water management components of this research will help farmers understand the potential yield gains that could be achieved with proper drainage and effective irrigation solutions."
This new research effort is one of most comprehensive water management studies in the country and is designed to evaluate not only proper tile drainage width and depth, but also sub-irrigation, water table management, over-head irrigation, and drip tape irrigation. Proper water management is vital in agriculture and Beck's hopes that this new research on both drainage and irrigation will allow farmers to better predict the value of tile and to make more informed decisions regarding irrigation on their own farms.
"Water tends to be a limiting factor across the Midwest, especially here in southern Illinois where there is a preconceived notion that tile drainage in silt loam soils is not a profitable decision," said Jason Webster, PFR Innovation Lead at Beck's. "The reality however, is that late season rainfall typically makes or breaks the yield potential for that growing season. We are excited to conduct this study on behalf of farmers to help them understand the benefits of various types of drainage and irrigation and the substantial impact on yield and profit it could have."
The tile system at Beck's Southern IL PFR site was installed by 360Water Solutions on 15 acres of ground in January 2016. The goal is to test tile widths of 60 ft., 30 ft., and 15 ft. at both 24 in. and 36 in. depths. The unique design of this versatile system was engineered by Robert and Jeremy Meiners from AGREM, LLC. It is comprised of three-inch black plastic tile and six-inch main drain lines installed for water drainage as well as three-inch tile laterals for irrigation. Drip tape and an overhead irrigation system will also be installed to compare various irrigation techniques.
"As with many of our PFR studies, we plan for this new research to be a multi-year study at our Southern IL site, providing a long-term database of information from a variety of growing seasons," McAllister added. "Yield will be collected on an annual basis, starting with the 2016 crop season, and documented in our PFR book that is distributed both in print and online."
In measuring the value of drainage and irrigation, this new study is the third of its kind for Beck's PFR. In 2010, Beck's installed a sub-irrigation test at the Indiana site, followed by a tile spacing and nutrient loss study that was added to the London, OH PFR site in 2015. The on-going Ohio study is in cooperation with The Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Field to Faucet initiative. For more information about Beck's Practical Farm Research or for results of these studies, visit www.BecksHybrids.com/research/PFR or call 800-937-2325.
About Beck's
Beck's is a family-owned and operated seed company that serves farmers in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. According to a recent media survey, Beck's ranks as the sixth largest seed company in the United States and the only one in the top six that is family-owned, making Beck's the largest retail, family-owned seed company in the United States. To learn more about Beck's, please visit www.beckshybrids.com. Follow Beck's Hybrids on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BecksHybrids, like Beck's Hybrids on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BecksHybrids, or visit the Beck's Blog at www.beckshybrids.com/blog.
Practical Farm Research (PFR)® is a registered trademark of Beck's Superior Hybrids, Inc.