Nebraska is experiencing below-normal snowfall and rainfall during the past winter and this early spring. In addition, the below-average snowpack in the North Platte River Basin has raised concerns about irrigation water supplies for this upcoming growing season. With potentially high irrigation demand expected this summer, making informed irrigation decisions will be critical.
As the irrigation season approaches, this is a good time for producers to register for the free irrigation scheduling tool: ACREE (Applied Collaborative Research, Extension and Education) app.
The ACREE app was released in April 2025 as a mobile irrigation scheduling tool designed to support irrigation management across Nebraska. The app estimates soil water depletion using basic field agronomic information from producer and estimated crop water use from nearby Nebraska Mesonet weather stations. Based on these inputs, ACREE tracks crop water use and estimates the amount of water remaining in the soil profile.
The app doesn’t require installation of any soil moisture sensors. Key features include:
- Irrigation scheduling recommendations for your particular field
- Weekly crop water use reports (this is generalized weekly crop water use for panhandle Nebraska, especially Scotts Bluff County)
- Visualization of the soil water depletion throughout the season
- Field journaling to record crop and irrigation management activities
For producers with soil moisture sensors installed in their fields, most commercial capacitance soil moisture probes can be integrated with ACREE to provide additional functionality. One such feature is the integration of AI to interpret past 7-day soil moisture patterns. Please note this is an experimental feature, and AI can make mistakes.
To register and access the app. Start with ACREE in a few simple steps:
- Download the app. Search for “ACREE” in the iOS App Store or Google Play Store and install the app (PHREC AgLab).
- Create an account and request field setup.
After creating an account in the app, email the irrigation team at the UNL Panhandle Research & Extension Center at phrecirr4502@gmail.com to set up your fields. Provide the field name and location using a legal description or GPS coordinate of the center of the field.
For example:
- Panhandle Research & Extension Center, Northwest quarter of 10-22N-55W
- Panhandle Research & Extension Center, 41.899053, -103.690129
- Enter crop information.
Once the field is created, its boundary will appear on your app's home page. Enter the crop type and planting date, which are the minimum inputs required for the irrigation scheduling tool to operate.
Enter irrigation event or adjust rainfall during the season. Producers will need to record irrigation events as they occur. Otherwise, the app won’t be able to calculate meaningful soil-depletion figures. Simply click the “scheduling” tab and click on the date the irrigation event occurred, then enter the amount. The app pulls the nearest Mesonet weather station for rainfall amount. Sometimes this may differ from actual field conditions. Users can adjust the rainfall amount by manually selecting the date and then adding or subtracting from the recorded rainfall.
For any assistance, contact phrecirr4502@gmail.com. Users can also submit feedback directly through the in-app comment icon. The development team will continue improving ACREE based on producers’ input. The team will be holding a webinar to provide more detailed training for using the app. Interested producers can email the address above to sign up.
