8 April 2015
Interview
AJ Bussan
by Ruth Faivre,
Managing Editor
Name: AJ Bussan
Title: Senior Production Agronomist
Company: Wysocki Produce Farm
Crops Grown/ Acreage: 13,000 acres
of potatoes, canning crops and forage
crops
Location: Farm from Necedah to
Bancroft
Hometown: Cuba City, WI
Current City: Waunakee, WI
Years in Current Position: 1
Previous Employment: University of
Wisconsin - Madison
Schooling: B.S. – Soil and Crop
Science, Chemistry, UW-Platteville.
M.S. – Agronomy, University of
Minnesota
Ph.D. – Agronomy, University of
Wisconsin-Madison
Activities/Organizations: Knights of
Columbus
Awards/Honors: WPVGA Researcher
of the Year (Three times)
WPVGA Industry Appreciation Award
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life
Sciences Pound Extension Award
Family: Wife Colette, three children
Hailey (20), John (16), Kennedy (14)
Hobbies: Fishing, Badger Fan, playing
hoops, mowing the lawn, (once you
admit it is a hobby, you look forward
to riding the mower)
A
renowned
base-funded
researcher
specializing
in potato and vegetable
production and Wisconsin
muck potato research,
AJ Bussan has worked closely with
Central Sands growers for several
years to improve water conservation
in potato and vegetable production
and actively participates in the
WPVGA's Water Task Force.
According to Bussan, a native of
Wisconsin,
“Central
Wisconsin
farmers are doing a better job at
growing profitable crops while at the
same time making less of a demand
on local water supplies.”
Previously employed as a Potato and
Vegetable Production Specialist at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
where he served as a faculty member
in the Department of Horticulture,
Bussan is now the Senior Production
Agronomist for Wysocki Produce
Farms.
He also was a leading participant
on several nationally funded potato
research projects, including the U.S.
Potato Board’s national chip and fry
processing trials. Additionally, Bussan
actively conducted research related
to reducing the amount of acrylamide
in processed potatoes and produced
key analysis works at the Wisconsin
Potato and Vegetable Storage
Research Facility.
Honored with the WPVGA Researcher
of the Year not once but three
separate times along with the WPVGA
Industry Appreciation Award, Bussan
is a regular contributor to Badger
Common’Tater and a guest speaker
at many WPVGA events as well as the
annual WPVGA Growers’ Conferences
over the years.
In previous press coverage, you stated
you believe that Wisconsin potato
and vegetable growers are doing
a better job at growing profitable
crops while simultaneously creating
less of a demand on local water
supplies. Can you elaborate on that
belief further?
Wisconsin potato producers were
growing more than 80,000 acres of
potatoes when I started working with
the industry in December of 2001. Of
those potatoes, over 60,000 acres
were grown under irrigation in Central
Wisconsin.
Wisconsin potato acreage had shrunk
to 60,000-65,000 acres per year
by the end of the last decade with
approximately 50,000 acres being
grown in Central Wisconsin, yet total
production has averaged nearly 95%
of the total production that was
produced during the first several
years of this century.
Potato seasons have not changed
dramatically over the course of the
BADGER COMMON’TATER 9
last 15 years so the average ET or
water use by a full season potato crop
has remained relatively constant on
a per acre basis, which is 18” to 22”
per year.
Wisconsin potato growers typically
need to provide 8” to 10” of irrigation
per acre in order to grow a full season
crop. The results of the increased yield
is that Wisconsin potato growers now
grow 95% of the crop they grew in
2001 with 75% of the water that was
required or water use efficiency (tons
of potatoes/acre inch of water) has
increased 126%.
continued on pg. 10
AJ Bussan discusses small plot and field scale planting trials of potatoes in beds. BC’T photo.
Dr. Amy Charkowski poses in front of the Wisconsin Certified Seed Potatoes booth at the 2015
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10 April 2015
Interview . . .
continued from pg. 9
Wisconsin’s sandy soil regions are great for growing vegetables commercially, which helps
establish our state as a major vegetable supplier. However, sandy soil requires irrigation for
crops to thrive, particularly in years with reduced rainfall. Growers like Plover River Farms, use
water wisely by utilizing computer controlled, energy-efficient, low horsepower, low pressure/
drop nozzle irrigation systems like this one located just south of their headquarters. It provides
optimal coverage while lowering water usage and reducing evaporation. Photo by Ruth Faivre.
Central Wisconsin potato farmers saw
a per acre increase in the amount of
green beans that were planted that
was consistent with declining volume
of potato acres. In other words, for
every acre of potatoes that was not
grown in the seven Central Wisconsin
counties an acre of green beans was
planted.
Green beans require between 6.5”
and 7” of water per acre to grow
a mature crop, which is 60 to 65%
less water than the average potato
crop requires. Even if green beans
were double cropped behind peas or
green beans, we would see a 20-30%
reduction in water use relative to
potatoes.
irrigated farmland through 2011
suggests most new acres are being
planted to sweet corn, which requires
12”to 13” per year to grow. So,
not only are potatoes grown with
improved water use efficiency, but the
crops to which irrigated farm land has
been rotated, have an overall lower
water requirement than potatoes,
conserving between 20-40% more
water relative to growing potatoes.
Please recognize these estimates
are based on in-season water use
patterns and only consider crop
evapotranspiration (ET) and not water
lost outside of the production season.
Furthermore, nitrogen requirements
of green beans and peas are lower
thereby reducing fertilizer use in these
crops compared to potatoes.
What are some of the challenges and
concerns you see evolving within
the irrigated production regions
of Wisconsin, particularly with the
current Little Plover River situation
and water regulation?
Additionally, expanding acreage of
The
largest
challenge
from
a
Pictured here with his 2009 award, AJ Bussan is
a three-time winner of the WPVGA Researcher
of the Year award.
regulatory standpoint is the hold up in
permit application reviews or denials
due to recent judicial ruling requiring
evaluating cumulative impacts on
surface waters of the state.
Farms are at great risk for economic
loss if wells fail over the course of
the growing season and cannot be
repaired in a timely manner. This may
be tolerable over the short term or
the next 6 to 12 months, but could
have catastrophic consequences over
the long-term.
The second largest challenge I see
is the unwillingness to identify
and implement solutions short of
shutting off or putting unacceptable
restrictions on irrigation wells. I
believe we have plenty of water to
accomplish agricultural, tourism,
industrial, and community goals,
but we need a different approach to
thinking about water.
BADGER COMMON’TATER 11
In some cases, we may need to
prioritize the use in certain areas
of the state and correspondingly
manage the water in accordance
with that priority. For example,
irrigation is being developed in new
areas of the state and it may be more
appropriate to ensure that new wells
only cause minimal or acceptable
effects. However, where irrigation is
widely developed, we should work to
maintain the current systems so that
the current production is sustainable
and does not cause challenges in new
areas of the state.
Finally, I believe models that
accurately depict cumulative impacts
are necessary toward finding new
solutions. The models can be used
to test hypothetical solutions
and implement them across the
landscapes of Central Wisconsin and
the rest of the state.
I also believe this will provide
AJ Bussan speaks at a 2013 Water Task Force (WTF) meeting. Also shown are (L-R), WTF members
Mike Copas, Dr. Jeff Wyman and Andy Diercks. BC’T photo.
opportunities to expand irrigated
production into areas with little
irrigation and avoid concerns and
controversies about future water use
in those areas.
How can Wisconsin farmers achieve
greater efficiency in crop water
management?
Efficiency
can
be
increased
by
reducing evaporation and maintaining
transpiration. Reducing ET will
ultimately reduce transpiration, which
in turn, reduces carbon assimilation
and biomass production in plants.
Biomass is required to produce
yield so reducing transpiration will
undermine the water use efficiency
accomplishments described above.
continued on pg. 12
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12 April 2015
Interview . . .
continued from pg. 11
At a 2012 Rhinelander Ag Research Station
potato tour, AJ Bussan explained how the hot,
dry June and early July weather reduced tuber
bulking and made it difficult to keep up with
water demand on the potato crop. BC’T photo.
If we reduce transpiration and
subsequently reduce yield, than it
takes more acres to grow the same
volume of crop. A 5% reduction in
transpiration at the wrong stage
of growth will actually double the
volume of water required to grow the
same amount of crop. Yet, none of the
current pumping restrictions account
for any of the seasonal fluctuations in
water requirements for the crop.
In contrast, reducing evaporation of
water or water loss directly from the
soil or plant surface has no impact on
yield and is the primary mechanism
to improve water use efficiency in
irrigated fields of Central Wisconsin.
Little is known about specific
mechanisms and approaches with the
greatest potential affect, but could
include no-till production schemes,
cover crops, reduced cultivation and
other strategies that decrease the
presence of bare soil. Evaporation
accounts for 20% to 60% of the water
loss from production fields depending
on the crops being grown.
What
irrigation
equipment
enhancements have you seen that
will help Wisconsin farmers continue
to be ‘good stewards’ while meeting
increasing yield demands?
Heartland Farms, Inc., the recipient of the 2011 National Potato Council Environmental
Stewardship Award, is one of many WPVGA farms that utilize the Wisconsin Irrigation Scheduling
Program, low-pressure water systems and drop nozzles that use less energy and place the water
closer to the ground, reducing evaporation. Photo courtesy of Heartland Farms, Inc.
Properly working irrigation equipment
that applies uniform application
of water across the field is a huge
requirement. This reduces yield
variability and more specifically, under
and over application of water in parts
of the field that can result in reduced
yields and subsequent reductions in
water use efficiency.
Variable rate application also has the
potential to improve irrigation water
efficiency. By taking advantage of
greater soil moisture holding capacity
that may occur in parts of fields, the
same crop yields could be achieved
with less irrigation water. While total
water use efficiency (tons of crop/acre
inch transpired) might be similar, the
amount of irrigation water required
might be reduced.
Otherwise, strategies that minimize
evaporation become critical during
certain times of the year. For example,
2012 had many days with low relative
humidity and high evaporative
demand. Under these cropping
conditions we may have appreciable
evaporation of irrigation waters. This
increases the importance of drop
nozzles or other strategies that reduce
evaporation.
How have research funding efforts
from Wisconsin farmers and groups
such as WPVGA, helped to better
understand the complexities of
crop water use and use water more
wisely, thusly producing food with a
much smaller carbon footprint than
would otherwise be possible?
In my mind, two substantial research
efforts have been facilitated through
research funding critical towards
improving water management under
irrigated agriculture. The first is
differential water use by crops, which
has been known for years and studied
by soils, agronomy, horticulture
and biological systems engineering
faculty, staff and students.
New
management
approaches
evaluating landscape strategies to
develop crop rotations in space and
time are going to be necessary to
promote more water conserving
farmscapes. Combining this effort
with cumulative impact modeling is at
the core of new strategies to minimize
impacts of irrigation on ground and
surface waters.
The second effort is evaluation of
production strategies that improve
water use efficiency. This includes:
BADGER COMMON’TATER 13
During 2013 Antigo Field Day, AJ Bussan reported on several of his research projects
involving evaluation of fresh market, red-skinned and specialty varieties as well as
his national trials of chip and fry processing varieties. BC’T photo.
• Pest and fertility management
approaches that have allowed
for increased production of
vegetables (i.e. value of fumigation,
neonicotinoids
insecticides,
strobilurin fungicides, etc.).
• Improved varieties and hybrids. New
green bean varieties have increased
yields 30 to 40% over published
maximum yield potential (from 6 to
8 ton).
• Deferred irrigation in deep rooted
crops such as field corn, sweet
corn or soybean reduces need for
irrigation prior to reproductive
stages by 1.5” to 2.5” per acre or 5
to 7.5 million gallons on a 130° pivot.
• Deficit irrigation potential in field
corn and sweet corn. I do not
recommend widely, but preliminary
research suggests less than a 5%
yield impact from deficit irrigation
in corn.
• Bed planting in potato production
appears to reduce the amount of
water that leaches beyond the root
AJ Bussan is shown with W9133-1rus, a promising fresh
market russet at the Second Annual Potato Variety Harvest
Expo, Hancock Research Station. BC’T photo.
zone in the bottom of the furrow.
This is also preliminary research and
may only be appropriate on coarse
soils.
• Drip irrigation is cost-prohibitive,
but 3 years of small plot research
and one summer of field scale
research, suggests irrigation could
be reduced 15 to 25% with only a
minimal impact on potato yield and
quality.