The Garden City Company - Roth Family Farm

This Water Technology farm is owned by The Garden City Company and operated by the Roth family. It is located northwest of Holcomb, KS on Ritchel Rd. in Finney County.

The inception of this farm began with Dwane Roth asking Troy Dumler, manager of the Garden City Company, if there was a better way of applying water in the field. The Kansas Water Office along with Dr. Jonathan Aguilar from K-State Southwest Research-Extension advised new irrigation technologies and measuring equipment to better assist in monitoring management of crops.

'With his wells declining, one Kansas farmer takes path to extend the life of the Ogallala"

Technology

In 2019, the GCC and Dwane Roth decided to expand their Water Technology Farm from one irrigation pivot to four pivots; and include a 10-acre experimental tract of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) to study alternative ways to mitigate water quality from the Arkansas River. The farm is unique in that the water source is both ground and surface water. Surface water from the irrigation canal comes from the Arkansas River and is known for its poor water quality particularly for salinity issues.

For the 2020 growing season, the farm will evaluate corn, sorghum, wheat, and sunflower. The entire farm is designed to compare the effectiveness of different sprinkler packages on separate irrigation pivots based on the crop. Other technologies and services such as soil moisture probes, aerial imagery and agronomist services shall be utilized on the farm.

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