A new report is out about water storage in the Ogllala aquifer, and this news isn't good. This reinforces the need for more widespread adoption of no-till practices and modern, precise irrigation technology.

Growers should still be mindful this year of the sugarcane aphid, which infested grain and forage sorghum crops in parts of Texas in 2014 and can pose another threat with the upcoming crop season, says Allen Knutson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist.

Some growers in the Plains feel incorporating cover crops into no-till systems can’t work because covers will use up all of the available moisture needed for the following cash crop. But experienced no-tillers share what benefits they’ve seen from cover crops on their own farms.

If a recent study is any indication, getting more crop production from every inch of water is going to become even more important in the near future.The Institution of Chemical Engineers recently released a report describing the amount of hidden water used in food and drink production, estimated at up to 1.8 million liters per person each year — equivalent an Olympic-size swimming pool.