This is how Wellman Farms manages data, drought and water

05-09-2023 | Smart farming | Article

Steve and Susan Wellman run a 700-hectare arable farm near Syracuse (Nebraska). - Photo's: René Koerhuis

Steve and Susan Wellman have adapted their way of farming to manage drought and water on 700 hectares in Nebraska. Automated data collection and storage is part of it and made them switch their combine brand.

Farming can be harsh in America’s third largest agricultural state Nebraska. Especially this year, with the month of May being the driest May on record since 1857! While normally May is the wettest month of the growing season, as we were told by one of the farmers we visited.

Nebraskan agriculture however has a trick up its sleeve called the ‘Ogallala aquifer’ (see box). An underground layer of mostly water bearing permeable rock from which groundwater is extracted for irrigation (and drinking water). The amount of underground water is comparable to a layer of almost 38 feet (11.6 metres) covering the whole state! No wonder Nebraska is home to four of the world’s largest manufacturers of centre pivot systems.

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Wellman Farms near Syracuse, Nebraska is a third-generation family farm run by Steven and Susan Wellman. They farm 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of owned and rented mostly silty clay loam land.

One inch less precipitation every 25 miles West

Future Farming had the opportunity to visit Wellman Farms near Syracuse, Nebraska on the invitation of the US Sustainability Alliance (USSA). Wellman Farms is a third-generation family farm run by Steven Wellman and his wife Susan. Steve is the former director for the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and farms about 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of owned and rented mostly silty clay loam land. “We used to farm 900 hectares but due to my other work and responsibilities, we diminished a bit”, Steve says. Their farm size still is way above the average arable farm size in Nebraska of 405 hectares (1,000 acres). All the work on the farm is done together with one fulltime employee.

The crops in Syracuse, mainly maize and soybean, can count on 30 to 32 inches (760 – 813 millimetres) of rainfall annually. This suffices not to irrigate on Wellman’s farm. “Every 25 miles you go west, the amount of rainfall drops 1 inch. In Western Nebraska, annual rainfall is as little as 10 inches (254 mm).”

50 percent less fuel with no till

Wellman Farms maintains a 1:2 rotation of maize and soybean and also grows a bit of alfalfa and winter wheat. “Over the years, we’ve moved away from grain sorghum. We still have some wheat but not as much as we used to have.” All crops are genetically modified. Apart from cropping, a 50 head cow-calf herd is kept. Mostly black angus. “That 50 head is slightly above the Nebraskan average of 40 heads”, Steve says.

The Wellmans switched to no-till in the mid-1980s

For sustainable but also for financial and workflow related reasons, the Wellmans switched to no-till in the mid-1980s. It resulted in a whopping 50 percent fuel reduction. Most fields are cultivated three times. When it comes to maize, they plant varieties with different harvest periods and normally harvest from mid-September to mid-November. “We do this to be able to harvest the total acreage with our John Deere S 760 combine and because we can then ship our cattle from field to field to feed on the maize residue.”

Interestingly enough, that combine used to be a red one. Steve explains: “When I was looking to buy a self-propelled sprayer, I became aware of the importance and benefits of automated data collection and cloud storage. Because of that, I chose to buy a John Deere sprayer and started using the Deere Operations Centre. This also resulted in trading in my red combine for the S 760 at AKRS Equipment, the local John Deere dealer.”

Agriculture is big in Nebraska

Nebraska is the 16th largest US state by land mass (200,520 km²) and 92% of the land (18 million hectares) is devoted to agriculture. Half of that is used for arable farming and the other half is grassland where beef is produced. Nebraska’s name is the result of anglicisation of the name given by Indians and means ‘flat water’ after the Platte River which flows through the state. Its top three commodities are cattle and calves, maize (including seed maize) and soybeans. The beef industry drives the agricultural production and the majority of the yellow maize produced is to feed the cattle of the 19,000 cattle ranches. Nebraska is the 3rd largest US producer of yellow maize, the largest for white maize (Frito-Lay) and the largest producer of popcorn maize. Nebraska produces an estimated 250 million pounds of popcorn per year – more than any other state. Nebraska also is the home of pivot irrigation. Four of the world’s largest manufacturers of centre pivot systems are located in Nebraska. They supply 85 percent of the global demand.

Contour terraces and waterways

The majority of the farmland is highly erodible and has therefor always had contour terraces and grass waterways. “That also adds to conservation and sustainability because the land, the soil, is our main resource. All three generations have been spending a lot of time and money on maintaining our terraces and waterways and on building drainage/tile systems to run water underground. By planting crops, we conserve water, soil and nutrients. That really is a difference compared to the 1970’s and ’80’s.”

Nebraskan farmers are used to insuring their crops, their yields, Steve says. “I believe that 95 to 96 percent of the crops are insured nowadays. With the yields based on the average yields over the last 10 years. Farmers have seen their yields more than double over the last 40 years. We currently harvest 150 bushels of maize per acre (9.4 ton/ha) and 45 bushels of soybean per acre (3.0 ton/ha).” Steve concludes that the acreage of maize in Nebraska has increased by 20 percent since 1980 and that the acreage of soybeans has doubled.

Ogallala aquifer powering the state

An aquifer is an underground layer of water bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). The groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well and be used for irrigation. Nearly whole Nebraska is supported by the Ogallala aquifer located beneath the Great Plains and regionally stretches out to a depth of over 350 metres (1,200 feet). This aquifer is one of the world’s largest aquifers and underlies an area of 174,000 square miles (450,000 km²). The aquifer is fed by rainfall. According to Wikipedia, since 1950, agricultural irrigation has reduced the saturated volume of the aquifer by an estimated 9 percent. The Ogallala aquifer not only ‘quenches’ the thirst of agriculture, it also supplies drinking water to over 82 percent of the people living in the High Plains part of the Great Plains.

More pictures of Wellman Farms

Apart from cropping, a 50 head cow-calf herd is kept. Mostly black angus. From mid-September to mid-November they feed on the maize residue on the fields after harvesting.

The majority of the farmland is highly erodible and has always had contour terraces like this. “It adds to conservation and sustainability because the land, the soil, is our main resource. All generations have been spending a lot of time and money on maintaining our terraces and waterways.”

Drainage systems and grass waterways below the contour terrace and a strip of wheat left on the right upper hand. That strip is left for the insurance company in case a claim has to be made.