Producers, tiling contractors, landowners, industry and agency staff, crop consultants, students, and land and water resource managers will have an opportunity to learn about subsurface drainage research in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota during a forum in Fargo on March 6.

Participants will learn about research projects and results from 14 North Dakota State University and Minnesota researchers. The NDSU Extension Service is sponsoring the event.

The forum will start at 8 a.m. with registration and conclude about 4 p.m. It will be held in the Century Theater at the NDSU Memorial Union.

“Since 1997, tile drain systems have been installed on a significant number of farmed acres in this region,” says Tom Scherer, NDSU Extension agricultural engineer.

“This area is subject to short growing seasons, saline- and sodium-affected soils, and sporadic precipitation events,” he adds. “Glacially derived topography can contribute to water problems on the land. These conditions create unique subsurface drainage design challenges.”

Since 2007, many research projects have been initiated to answer questions that growers have raised about tile drainage in this area.

“Some of the research projects have looked at the interaction of tile with saline and sodic soils, water quality of tile outflow, the impact of tile on agronomic factors, tile water management using control structures and subirrigation, the impact of tile flow on watersheds, reducing nutrients in tile water with bioreactors, and infiltration into frozen soils,” says NDSU Extension agronomist Hans Kandel.

The registration deadline is March 4. Visit http://bit.ly/2BE53hX to register. The cost for those who preregister is $20. The fee includes a parking pass, handouts and refreshments. Lunch is not included. Participants should use the visitors E parking lot north of Centennial Boulevard.

For more information on the program, contact Kandel at 701-231-8135 or hans.kandel@ndsu.edu. To learn more about tile drainage, check out the NDSU and University of Minnesota Extension publication “Frequently Asked Questions About Subsurface (Tile) Drainage” at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ageng/irrigate/ae1690.pdf.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Jan. 30, 2018