Ways to save your farm during a drought
With the current drought situation in the Western Cape, many of the agricultural farmers are struggling on a daily basis to keep their farms going and meet the demands of the food industry.
But it is possible to keep farming throughout a drought and to save water at the same time.
Water solutions
The ideal solution to a drought would be to find water of your own that you can use on the farm, without having to rely completely on municipal water. And, on the farm, there are some things you can consider.
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Borehole: The process of constructing a borehole can be an expensive one and isn’t always a fruitful endeavour. You also need to know what the rules are governing the use of borehole water in your area before you go through with it as there currently restrictions on boreholes in the Western Cape.
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Farm ponds: Farmers in Kenya have built farm ponds for crop irrigation as a means to beat the drought and make the most of the bit of rainfall they do get. It’s important to line and cover these farm ponds so they don’t lose their water quickly.
Any water storing and saving techniques that can be applied on your farm, commercial or subsistence farming, should be implemented. Rather create your own sense of water security on your farm than rely on external institutions to provide it for you.
Dry farming
Dry farming can be an option for many farmers who are growing the right drought-resistant crops or using moisture-enhancing methods. It is the production of crops without any irrigation systems in place.
Dry farming is a popular technique for wine farms as it’s known to cultivate more complex flavours. This has to do with having the roots running deep in the soil where the most moisture is found (as is the technique for most dry farming crops), which results in smaller grapes being produced that hold more flavour than larger grapes from irrigated wine farms.
Consider where your farm’s crops can afford to be dry farmed and you’ll save plenty of water that can be used elsewhere on the farm.
How to handle your soil
The health of your soil is going to play a large role in how well your farm manages during a drought. You need to keep it moist and increase its water and nutrient retention abilities so that there is less water required to maintain it.
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Conservation tillage: Tillage has been known to decrease soil quality and during a drought that’s something your farm can’t afford. Through conservation tillage, you are leaving residue from previous crops in and on the soil before and after you plant the new crops. This has many benefits for your soil, including better soil tilth, more organic matter, retaining water and moisture ability, reducing soil erosion and improving water quality through nutrients.
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Cover crops: Legumes, brassica and rye grass are a few examples of cover crops grown amongst your main crops as a way to protect and enrich the soil. Your soil will also be able to hold more water with cover crops in place.
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Compost and mulch: Any organic matter can be used to create mulch and compost that, when layered over the top of your soil, can improve soil structure and water retention in the soil.
How to handle your crops
Now that your soil is ready and holding the necessary moisture for your crops, you can reconsider how you handle your crops during a drought.
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Drip irrigation: If dry farming isn’t a viable option for the scale or products of your farm, then turn to drip irrigation to save water and keep your crops alive. Through drip irrigation, you’ll be sending water straight to the roots of the crop and if your soil is up to standard, it will be able to retain that water and moisture. It will also be better practice to set a timing schedule for irrigation where it only occurs during the coolest times of day – so before the sun rises and after the sun has set. This way your precious watering efforts won’t be unnecessarily lost to evaporation. You should also consider weather patterns before irrigating. If rain has been predicted, there’s no reason to irrigate for the day or one of the scheduled time periods.
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Vinegar: Researchers from the RIKEN institute in Japan have published a study about the use of vinegar as a drought-fighting tool. The study shows “plants that produce more acetate are able to deal with drought more easily.” Acetate acid being vinegar, and using the vinegar as a stimulant for plants to produce more acetate and beat drought environments. They also found the vinegar treatment worked for any type of plant.
How to handle your livestock
If you are a livestock farmer, there are also ways you can handle your livestock during a drought to keep them healthy and save water.
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Separate: Farmers need to organise their livestock according to stronger and weaker, and the breeding core. Your breeding core is what will continue income generation after the drought and are your most valuable assets.
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Supplements: It’s important to introduce supplements and inoculation programmes as a means to keep your livestock healthy and improve their immunity for the drought period.
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Save feed: As you would have restricted the movement of your livestock to control feeding and grazing programmes, it’s important to save as much feed as possible. You do this by using feeding equipment (http://www.radium.co.za) to place feed directly in troughs so as not to waste any by simply scattering it over the ground. This, along with the separation techniques, will minimise competition between livestock and ensure that they all receive the required rations.