On November 9th, the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a USDA commitment to invest $8 million in the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative during FY 2016. The USDA has invested $74 million since 2011 to fund this initiative intended to optimize water usage in the High Plains Region.
Covering nearly 174 thousand square miles, the Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the US. It supplies 30 percent of the nation’s irrigation water and supports nearly 20 percent of domestically produced wheat, corn, cotton, and cattle. According to the U.S. Geological Survey the aquifer’s water level dropped by 36 million acre-feet from 2011 to 2013, creating a need to, in Vilsack’s words, “better manage water use in this thirsty region.”
The Ogallala Initiative intends to curb the currently unsustainable use of water. This $8 million round of funding will address groundwater quantity and quality concerns in Nebraska, along with helping to educate and facilitate the implementation of water conservation practices by farmers in Oklahoma. These two projects will supplement seven existing projects addressing irrigation efficiency, soil health through the use of cover crops and no-till practices, and stressed vegetation through prescribed grazing.