Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION – In his 29 years as farm manager, Al Nelson has seen much change take place on the sprawling 1,500-acre farm near College Station that serves as a research and teaching platform for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
“When I first got here, we had a 4020 John Deere with 8,000 hours on it,” he said. “That was about the best tractor we had. Now we have a 310 horsepower Case IH.”
And through the years irrigation methods have also changed. He said the current drip tape technology is innovative, but has a ways to go.
“I’m not sure if you can put fertilizer through it, but it’s coming,” he said. “Nozzles on center pivot irrigation have been converted to a LESA (Low Elevation Spray Application) system. That’s been a change for the better.”
Perhaps the most drastic change has been drought, which altered irrigation intervals throughout 2012. The farm’s permit to draw irrigation water from the Brazos River was temporarily suspended by the Brazos River Authority last year, but lifted in January through May, Nelson said. After that, the farm has purchased water from the Brazos River Authority for irrigation.
Nelson said about 350 acres of research trials can use water from the wells, but the water flow had to be cut in half to maintain pressure, he said.
Nelson said the farm crew manned by Edward Macik, Donald Jakubik and Tom Moser maintains the farm’s infrastructure for AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension efforts. Cash cropping allows for purchases of new equipment and pays for ongoing maintenance of farm operations.
A career highlight for Nelson was a four-month stay in Iraq in 2009, part of an agricultural team from the Norman Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University helping to restore Iraqi food and fiber production.
“I got into it not knowing what to expect. I went into it with an open mind and it was absolutely an incredible experience.”
Nelson’s group was assigned to the Anbar Province. Each day the team would conduct field activities and assess various aspects of agricultural production. At the end of the day, Borlaug team members would compile field notes and discuss solutions for addressing the problems.
Nelson said the whole Iraqi experience was one he will never forget – from the wide variety of food to the camaraderie shared with a cross-section of people.
“I came away from that experience with a sense of accomplishment,” he said.
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