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through the use of a second LI-200S pyranometer configured with an adjustable 

 shadow band consisting of a leveling fixture, shadow band, and shadow band 

 mount . 



Idaho Power will fund the equipment and installation costs which are not to 

 exceed $1800 per station or $7200 total. Reclamation will provide for all 

 necessary labor and equipment for the installation, calibration, and operation 

 of the additional solar monitoring equipment. Reclamation will also 

 coordinate with each of the four AgriMet Site Co-sponsors in arranging for 

 periodic equipment adjustments for tracking solar angles. 



Current Status 



Ongoing. Four shadow band units were machined from plans supplied by 

 LiCor Inc. One of the units has been installed at the Federal Center 

 test site in Boise. ID for calibration. This and the remaining units 

 will be installed at the four sites in July. 1993. 



Contact : Monte McVay. Conservation Agronomist. Regional Water Conservation 

 Center. Boise, ID. 208-378-5282. 



Crop Census Pilot Prelect 



Background 



on 



The objective of this pilot project is to evaluate the possibility of 

 cooperative data sharing with the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservati 

 Service (ASCS) in meeting Reclamation needs for cropping information on 

 Federal irrigation projects. 



Annually. Reclamation publishes a document called "Summary Statistics" that 

 includes information on water distribution, crop acreages and overall crop 

 production from Federal irrigation projects. 



Historically, this information has been gathered at the farm level through a 

 "crop census" program administered by local irrigation districts, and 

 summarized by Reclamation at the project and regional level. The importance 

 of accurate and timely data in documenting the overall costs and benefits of 

 operating Federal irrigation projects in addition to problems associated with 

 current methodologies in the gathering of the data, has led to proposals to 

 explore potential alternatives to either replace, improve, or augment current 

 methods . 



A number of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs require 

 that agricultural producers report and certify crop acreages annually through 

 the ASCS. As a result, the ASCS has developed an intensive, dynamic crop 

 reporting system on a county -by -county basis throughout the United States. 

 ASCS's system was identified as the most logical choice to potentially provide 

 an alternative source of accurate annual cropping information. 



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