Water and Irrigation

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requires that all farms with agricultural and/or horticultural irrigation sources with a combined total pumping capacity of 70 gallons per minute or more be certified through Rutgers Cooperative Extension county offices.  Agricultural Agents are able to answer questions about filling out the application form — ACG-1.

The NJDEP rules for agricultural/horticultural water use also require that monthly log books be kept for each diversion source (well, pond or stream) in lieu of installing meters. The following templates will help you monitor your irrigation water use, which then must be reported to the NJDEP each year on a form that they will send you in January.

• Irrigation Logbook (MS Word) — print a chart for each diversion.
  
  
• Ag Logbook (MS Excel) — print a chart for each diversion, then transfer data into the spreadsheet to automatically calculate monthly and annual water use. PLEASE NOTE—when you launch this file, you will see a warning about macros. Select 'enable macros' for it to function properly.

 

Links

Irrigation Management Fact Sheets

Farming During Drought

Rutgers Coop Extension Ag Weather Forecast Advisory

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Files (PDF)

Variable Frequency Drive
on an Electric Turbine, experienced at Bellview Farms - 218K

Sprinkler Systems Run Times - 64K

New Jersey Irrigation Methods - 57K

What Farmers can do to Save Water - 5MB

Best Management Practices for Irrigating Vegetables - 372K

New Jersey Agricultural Industry Drought Management Plan - List of Water Management Documents - 420K

Irrigation Water Management Plan - 56K

Water Quality and Agriculture Projects - 83K