Water conservation in the Great Plains region remains a significant priority for agricultural producers. One organization, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, is working to help farmers and ranchers enhance water supplies and improve water quality to ensure this valuable resource is available for many years to come.  

Brandt Underwood, an agronomy graduate from the Davis College, has been a conservation agronomist for the NRCS for 21 years.  

“NRCS’ goal is to work on private agricultural type lands,” Underwood said.  

The NRCS provides conservation and conservation practices in different ways to farmers and ranchers to make sure they have the best water they can for the area they are in. The Ogallala Aquifer is the main water resource that provides the underground water for this region and most of the Great Plains, Underwood said.  

“As far as the City of Lubbock, some of our drinking water comes from the Ogallala Aquifer along with several other reservoirs that provide drinking water for the city,” Underwood said. “It provides mostly for our irrigation water and most of our livestock water.” 

Underwood said the NRCS is doing several things through its technical assistance program to make sure farmers and ranchers are able to make the most out of the water they have. The technical assistance program is an NRCS program that provides conservation guidance to farmers and ranchers. 

“We go out and provide conservation plans on the landscape with our farmers to number one, help them apply conservation practices like residue management where we don’t till the soil as much or possibly implement cover crops,” Underwood said. “We want to implement a management practice that will make them be able to harvest and conserve the rainfall to the best of their ability.”  

The NRCS also assists with irrigation-type practices where they address irrigation application efficiencies through both technical and financial assistance. 

“For example, through our Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the NRCS will provide some financial assistance to help update out-of-date irrigation systems,” Underwood said. “We do this to make sure they have the highest application system as possible.” 

Making sure irrigation systems are operating at ideal application efficiencies ensures the farmer is making the most of the water application, allowing the soil profile to benefit the plant being harvested.  

“With subsurface drip irrigation and modern style pivot application, the water is applied to the soil surface so there is little chance for the water to evaporate,” Underwood said.  

As Lubbock’s population continues to grow leading to more pressure on limited water resources, Underwood said the NRCS is doing its part to make sure the groundwater used for farming and ranching is utilized as efficiently as possible to make sure it is still available for future use. 

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