On-Line Irrigation Scheduling within the Belle Fourche Irrigation District

On-line irrigation scheduling consultant software is being developed for producers within the Belle Fourche Irrigation District (BFID). This project, which is funded for 3 years by a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is entering its second irrigation season. The BFID is a gravity-fed, canal-based system located in western South Dakota. Recurring droughts often limit the amount of water available for irrigation in the BFID. The purpose of this project is to provide producers with a reliable, easy-to-use means to monitor and schedule irrigations that will conserve water and reduce the amount of sediment-laden irrigation return flows that are discharged into the adjacent Belle Fourche River, historically listed as impaired for total suspended solids (TSS) by the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (SD DENR).