10 Broadcaster Press March 17, 2015 www.broadcasteronline.com March 15 - 21, 2015 Drainage Calculators Now Available Growing Vines In The Upper Midwest ROSHOLT (AP) — A winery in Rosholt doubles as a family home for a couple who recently moved back to South Dakota to start their grape-growing and winemaking business. According to the Watertown Public Opinion, Jeremiah and Lisa Klein were inspired by a news article about growing grapevines in the Upper Midwest to bring With the Wind Vineyard & Winery to fruition in the far northeast corner of South Dakota. “We had been looking at an abandoned farm property just to live on, and my husband wondered if the soil there would be the right type to grow grapevines, which we thought would be a fun hobby,” Lisa Klein said. Tests of the soil done by Jeremiah Klein, who worked in the agriculture industry, found it was good for grapes. The couple purchased the property about three years ago and built a winery in the same building where they live. The wine-making facility and tasting room are on the first floor, while the Kleins, including their three children, live on the second floor. They grow four varieties of grapes: Brianna, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris and King of the North. Their stainless steel fermentation tanks come from Italy. Jeremiah Klein learned how to produce wine by taking science courses through South Dakota State University and completing an online winemaking program through the University of California, Davis. Lisa Klein said she helps with tasting and business decisions. So far, the couple has 900 vines on 1.5 acres just south of Rosholt, about seven miles east of Interstate 29. “We have 10 acres available for growing grapes,” Lisa Klein told the Capital Journal. Their entire farm is 20 acres. Last June, the first “commercial batch” of their wine was available, 2013 vintage, she said. “The 2014 vintage will come later this spring into early summer.” The winery opened to the public in June. Besides raising grapes and making wine, the family holds regular tastings and sells the wine in nearby stores. “They served our wine at the inaugural ball in Pierre in January,” Lisa Klein said. ? Smile. BROOKINGS - SDSU Extension recently released web-based drainage calculators for tile drainage and subirrigation design. Contractors and farmers can access these calculators at www.iGrowDrainage. org. The calculators are compatible with a variety of devices allowing for in-field use.   “For years farmers and contractors have asked our team to develop calculators they could use in the field because several calculations are needed when designing drainage systems on agricultural land,” explained Chris Hay, SDSU Extension Water Management Engineer. To meet this demand, Hay and his team took research-based calculations and designed several easy-to-use calculators which address common drainage design calculations to provide farmers and contractors with in-field data they need. “These are equations that we as engineers like to play around with but aren’t always the easiest to use. The calculators are designed to make it easy to get quick answers so they can get the job done right,” Hay said.  The calculations Hay references provide research-based guidance to boost productivity and minimize downstream impacts on everything from drain spacing and pipe sizing, to subirrigation and lift station design. “When tiling, the calculations need to be correct in order for the drainage system to meet the farmer’s goals and function properly. Once you put the pipe in the ground, the goal is that it will last 50 to 100 years or more without issues,” Hay said. Tiling is designed to drain excess moisture off fields that have reached their holding capacity. “Many soils in the Upper Midwest do not drain well because of glacial influence,” Hay explained. “Many fields sit on top of layers of glacial till or other restrictive layers that can limit natural drainage.” Demand for tile drainage is up in portions of South Dakota where excess field moisture can delay or PHOTOS COURTESY OF IGROW.ORG prevent planting, explained Nathan Utt, Agricultural Engineer with Ecosystem Services Exchange. “There is an increase in drainage installation and a growing number of people who are doing the installation. Not only contractors, but farmers and other landowners who are installing their own drain tile,” said Utt who has been working with agricultural drainage since 2007 and as an engineering consultant in the field for three years.  “These calculators are helpful because they provide accurate numbers for factors like optimum drainage spacing, which is critical to system performance as well as minimizing system cost,” Utt said. The calculators were developed in cooperation with University of Minnesota Extension. To learn more and access the calculators, visit www.iGrowdrainage.org. n SDSU iGROW Cover Crop Cost$? There’s An App For That! Planting cover crops is a hot trend but farmers who haven’t tried it yet have one question: “What’s it going to cost me?” USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) developed a simple digital tool to answer that question. It’s called the Cover Crop Economic Decision Support Tool. It helps farmers, landowners and others make informed decisions when considering adding cover crops to their production system. And it’s free. “The tool offers a partial budget analysis,” explains Ivan Dozier, Illinois NRCS State Conservationist. “It focuses only on operational changes farmers make—actual costs and benefits farmers see when they add in cover crops. We focus on benefits and costs we can easily express in dollars,” Dozier adds. Benefits & Costs To Measure Direct nutrient credits Input reductions Yield increases & decreases Seed & establishment costs Erosion reductions Grazing opportunities Overall soil fertility levels Water storage & infiltration improvements The tool’s analysis depends on data users enter. Users can run “what if” scenarios if they want to evaluate a range of values. The tool offers results in both dollars and graphs, showing short- and long-term benefits. “Our hope is that answers to some of the big economic questions will help more Illinois farmers give this conservation option a try,” says Dozier. According to NRCS and other research, long-term results in renewed soil health offer huge returns in crop yields, water quality and infiltration improvements, weed and pest control and more. “Cover crops are a good trend and one that can actually pay off,” Dozier adds. This NRCS tool, which is being used nationwide, was developed by Agricultural Economists in Missouri and Illinois. Farmers can download the spreadsheet and run it at Specializing in Irrigation Well Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/ portal/nrcs/detailfull/il/soils/ health/?cid=stelprdb1269028  or visit the Illinois website and find a factsheet about the tool and download the tool there. n Natural Resources Conservation Service Jeremy Promes - Owner Licensed & Certified in SD & NE Quality Well Service LLC Call for all your Well Service needs 402-841-0535 FOR ALL YOUR Fertilizer • Crop Protection and Custom Application needs Stop in today and visit with your local rep! New Homes Office: 605-761-1001 • 47261 SD Hwy 48 Elk Point, SD 57025 • valleyagsupply.com Chad Van Laecken 605.310.1080 Remodeling Brian Gaulke 605.660.4735 900 W. Spruce St., Mitchell, SD 57301 605.990.2710 • c.e@mit-tel.net Need a better way to get around? Check out our Automotive Classifieds for a reliable ride! Broadcaster 201 W. Cherry St. 624-4429 Classifie get the job done! Broadcas 201 W. Cherry 624-4429