Michigan agricultural producers have many years of experience controlling subsurface drainage to enhance crop production. Much of the highly productive cropland in Michigan has a naturally occurring shallow water table and relatively flat topography. To be productive those soils were artificially drained many years ago. The drain pipes, located approximately three feet below the ground surface, often required a drainage pump to raise the discharge waters to an elevation that would allow the drainage water to be discharged. A few innovative farmers began turning their drainage pumps off after field work was completed in the spring and leaving them off during much of the growing season. They noticed increased crop yields along with savings on their electric bill. A few farmers began experimenting with using their pumps to add water to the subsurface drainage systems during the growing season when a lack of rainfall would normally reduce yields. During dry years, this practice seemed to further increase crop yield.
In the early 1980s, Michigan producers began asking Michigan State University agricultural engineering extension specialists questions about the practice of using subsurface drainage systems for both drainage and irrigation. A multi-disciplinary team of engineers, soil scientists, agronomists, crop modelers, economists, farmers and drainage contractors was assembled and began planning applied research projects that would provide answers to the practical questions being asked by Michigan farmers and others.
The research that resulted was designed to address questions such as: