MONTEREY, La. — Lee Bean recalls when farmers had to do almost no irrigation to achieve good crop yields. Now, the general manager of Angelina Plantation near Monterey measures the amount of water it takes to water his farms almost 27,000 acres in millions of gallons. To flood a rice field takes 12 million gallons of water; to create the effect of an inch of rain on a 240-acre tract using a pivot system or furrow irrigation takes 6 million gallons.

&uot;When you get through (watering) a field, you almost have to start back again as soon as you stop,&uot; Bean said. &uot;It adds significantly to your cost of production, but you can’t afford not to.&uot;

That’s because the Miss-Lou has been experiencing moderate drought conditions this year, with year-to-date rainfall almost eight inches below normal, and experienced below-average rainfall for the previous two years, depleting soil moisture even more.

And with the cost of production rising every year and crop prices still low, the low yields a drought year could bring could be the last straw for some farmers, making irrigation that much more important.

Irrigating &uot;can save farmers from a disaster,&uot; said Glen Daniels, Concordia Parish county agent. &uot;I look it as crop insurance. Without it, crops are just burning up.&uot;

The cost of that insurance is quite high, said farmers. A.J. Vangilder, who farms about 3,000 acres of cotton, rice, corn, milo and soybeans on Scotland and Pecania plantations and his own property, had been watering his crops for 35 days straight as of Thursday.

&uot;Its cost me probably $30,000 including fuel for water pumps and pipe,&uot; Vangilder said, noting that about 70 percent of the land he farms is irrigated.

&uot;Some crops I can’t water because the grounds not level and it would take $250 to $300 to make it suitable (for irrigation). Where I can’t water, the yield will be almost zero. (But) it would cost about $1 million to develop all this land at one time.&uot;

Bean estimated that it would cost $400 an acre to install an irrigation system that is, if you can find the equipment and labor to do it, with irrigation systems so in demand these days. And once it is installed, other costs such as $1 a gallon for diesel fuel for water pumps, up from 50 cents just increase the amount a farmer has to spend.

&uot;This is the worst year I’ve had since 1980-81, when we went through a terrible drought and I lost a lot of money,&uot; Vangilder said.

Bill Branch, an irrigation specialist with the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, said it used to be that farmers who called him asked questions about the selection and design of irrigation systems for specific purposes.

Now they ask questions to survive, inquiring about how to time watering for best results and about the cost of such systems the latter being especially important since some bankers are requiring proof of irrigation capability before they make crop loans, Branch said.

They also ask how to adapt other states successful methods to Louisiana conditions. Branch said he has seen farmers researching more innovative irrigation methods to stay afloat. Such methods include using surface water for irrigation, which tends to be less salty than ground water and better for crops, he added.

Another example of innovation is at Angelina, which is using a new irrigation schedule. Probes are used to detect when the soil gets a two-inch moisture deficit, &uot;so they’ll know its time to water (crops) again,&uot; Daniels said.

&uot;We are beginning to use technology that has been used by farmers in other states with longer histories of irrigating,&uot; Branch said. &uot;We are putting more time and effort into irrigation. … Commodity prices are so low, any technology which will help improve yields and reduce the possibility of a crop failure is being pursued.&uot;

For those who do not irrigate — given the already low prices farmers already get for the crops they can produce — the cost could be disastrous, Vangilder said.

&uot;This will drive some people out of the business. The cost is so great and the margin of profit is so small in good years,&uot; he said. &uot;The general public doesn’t realize how serious its getting.&uot;