These projects closely fit combinations of IIC research priorities established based on interviews and a survey the Consortium conducted in 2021 with irrigation sector stakeholders:
- Evaluating and improving irrigation technologies and recommendations
- Improving integration of irrigation tools and strategies
- Data synthesis to inform irrigation decision making
- Clarifying water use benchmarks, targets and protocols
- Quantifying potential benefits (biophysical, practical, economic) of advanced irrigation management
“This year’s projects are each highly applied and have effective outreach plans to encourage adoption of tools and research insights,” said Dr. Tim Martin, IIC’s executive director. “As a result, we are looking forward to meaningful research results for irrigators, water managers and industry partners that will encourage broader adoption of advanced irrigation tools and strategies.”
“These projects encompass a wide range of important research that will be highly beneficial to stakeholders,” said Dr. Kathy Boomer, FFAR scientific program director. “We are excited about the diverse collaborations and their potential for pioneering breakthroughs that will go far in advancing sustainable irrigation and water management.”
Read more about these selected projects:
Using the Irrigation-Energy Linkage to Estimate Irrigation Water Delivery
Principal Investigator: Amy Harsch, Nebraska Water Balance Alliance
Industry Partner: Grower Information Services Coop
Budget, including match: $195,852
This project, which expands on work previously funded by IIC, is focused on using electrical runtime data to accurately estimate water pumped for irrigation in real time. In addition to providing real-time field-level data on water use to farmers via a user-friendly dashboard tool, Harsch’s team is providing aggregated data to support local groundwater district and state government agency work on water resource modeling, water budgeting and policy development. The team aims to encourage shifts in awareness and practice related to irrigation management and to scale their impact by engaging with producers and district managers in two Nebraska water management districts.
Developing a data assimilation and integration tool for irrigation management technologies used by California Almond Growers
Principal Investigator: Dr. Nicholas Bambach, University of California, Davis
Industry Partner: Almond Board of California
Budget, including match: $291,380
Bamback’s team is developing a dashboard interface for almond growers that will integrate information from various irrigation management tools producers are using to support critical irrigation decisions, with a strong focus on making remote sensing data actionable.
The team will engage with multiple industry partners whose tools will be able to plug into this interface, and will train Extension agents, farm advisors, government field staff and other irrigation stakeholders on how to use this dashboard.
Organizing and analyzing Testing Ag Performance Solutions program data, quantifying productivity and GHG outcomes for corn, grain sorghum, and cotton
Principal Investigator: Dr. Daran Rudnick, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Budget, including match: $250,580
The Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) program, which is designed to reflect real-world, on-farm conditions and circumstances, engages producers in annual competitions to demonstrate and expand their proficiency at managing and marketing commodity crops as efficiently and profitably as possible. Rudnick’s team will capitalize on the extensive data gathered over the last five years of the program, including on how growers’ use of decision support technologies affects production outcomes, to synthesize and distill a broad range of management implications and inform future research priorities.
Extension Outreach Tools to Improve Adoption of Irrigation Management Technologies in the Texas Panhandle
Principal Investigator: Dr. David Parker, West Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Industry Partners:Better Harvest Co., Providence Farm
Budget, including match: $303,384
Parker’s team is developing a user-friendly tool to help producers in the Texas Panhandle distribute acres dedicated to irrigated and dryland crops as a strategy for managing declining groundwater resources more effectively and profitably. The team will work closely with crop consultants and producers to support their use of this tool in conjunction with using soil moisture sensors effectively.
To learn more about the Irrigation Innovation Consortium, visit: https://irrigationinnovation.org/.
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Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.
Connect: @FoundationFAR