January 30, 2003

Agricultural Tile Drainage Design Workshop Set for February

If standing water in your fields is interfering with your farming operation, tile drainage may be an answer. To introduce basic concepts, an agricultural tile drainage design and water management workshop will be held Feb. 25-27 in Crookston, Minn.

"While the southern part of North Dakota is experiencing a drought, the north central and northeast parts of the state are still plagued with excess water from large storms that occurred last summer," notes Tom Scherer, North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer. "Many fields were not harvested and some have not been planted for two years. One way to alleviate excess water is through water table control using tile drainage. Several tile drainage projects have been installed in North Dakota over the last few years and have been successful in alleviating excess water problems."

The workshop will be at the Northland Inn in Crookston. A drainage product and service exhibitor hall will be part of the workshop. Pre-registration is required by Monday, Feb. 17. The fee is $175 per person for the three-day workshop, $125 for two days or $75 for a single day. Continuing education units for Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) have been requested for the workshop. To register contact Jean Spohr at (320) 589-1711 or e-mail at spohrjm@mrs.umn.edu.

For a copy of the workshop brochure, contact Scherer at (701) 231-7239 or by e-mail at tscherer@ndsuext.nodak.edu  or contact your county extension office. A copy of the program, including registration information, can be found at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/upcoming.htm

The workshop is co-sponsored by the extension services of the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University in partnership with the Minnesota Land Improvement Contractors Association.

The workshop is for farmers, landowners, tile drainage contractors, crop consultants, water resource advisers, lenders, elected officials and other interested persons. It will cover subsurface tile drainage design and planning, tile sizing, lateral spacing and the Minnesota Drainage Guide. Hands-on tile drainage design exercises will be included. Presenters will include University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University faculty, farmers and a tiling contractor.

Topics on Tuesday, Feb. 25, will cover subsurface tile drainage design basics and local farmer experiences. Presentations on Wednesday, Feb. 26, will cover intermediate design topics and hands-on exercises. Topics on Thursday, Feb. 27, will include discussions on climate trends, tile hydrology, university drainage research projects and Manitoba drainage experiences.

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Source: Tom Scherer, (701) 231-7239, tscherer@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu