Water is a vital natural resource in many ways, including in food production, so thinking about “sustainable water use” in agriculture is not just about using less water.

“Farmers are already operating sustainably,” said Tyler Fields, senior director of global water supply at AEM member company Valley irrigation. “Today, there are new practices and technologies that are really helping to advance sustainability. As we enter a new era of irrigation, the biggest impetus is to make better use of the water we have to grow more crops.”

“Water conservation and water efficiency are two different issues,” adds Jim Ed Beach, US Commercial Lead for Sustainable Solutions at Netafim USA“Producers are trying to become more efficient. If we can get more resources through the Environmental Quality Incentive Programme (EQIP)I think there would be a much greater shift to more efficient technologies.”

Fields and Beach and representatives from two other irrigation product manufacturers met to discuss sustainable water use at the second Celebrating modern agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, DC It is an issue that has been discussed in recent years due to concerns about Depletion of aquifers and rivers in some places, such as the lower Colorado River.

“There was an urgent, reactive situation in the lower Colorado,” said another panelist, Mike Mills, director of sustainability solutions at AEM member company Reinke Manufacturing. “Now, as we look at some of the other river basins in the country, we’re starting to say, ‘Maybe we need to be a little more careful.’ So there’s some proactive attention to sustainable efforts and where the water is going.”

According to Jason Parker, sales and marketing manager at AEM member company Lindsay CorporationMore efficient irrigation systems can play a crucial role in sustainable water use – while also helping to ensure a reliable global food supply.

“Thirty or 40 years ago, farmers thought they were watering efficiently because they saw the water running into the ditch at the end of the field,” Parker said. “Today, farmers use weather stations and soil moisture sensors. They work with soil moisture maps based on forecasts. We can do so much more today to control when and where water is applied.”

“Farmers are already doing things sustainably. Now there are new practices and technologies that are really advancing sustainability. As we enter a new era of irrigation, the biggest impetus is to make better use of the water we have to grow more crops.” -Tyler Fields of Valley Irrigation

Gaining farmers’ trust in new technologies

As the emphasis on sustainable water use has increased over the past decade, manufacturers specializing in irrigation hardware have also moved into the technology space.

“We have to remember that the central pivot is everything,” Fields said, referring to the widely used type of irrigation system. “What can we add to that pivot to make it better for the crop and the farmer? With the technology coming to market with our scheduling platforms, farmers can see what the pivot is doing on a daily basis. They can change the speed and set a different application rate. If there’s a low spot, you want to go a little faster. If there’s a sandy spot, you want to slow it down and add a little more water. Efficiency is putting the water where it’s needed to produce more crop.”

To bring these highly efficient, technology-driven irrigation systems to market, manufacturers have had to change their mindset. But Mills says that’s not a problem. “We can always hire electrical engineers and software developers who understand what we want to do,” Mills stressed.

Getting farmers to change their mindset is actually the harder task. “The biggest challenge in the rollout was end-user acceptance and giving farmers confidence that the technology does what we say it does,” said Mills.

“We need to make it clear to farmers that we have the equipment to help them not only be more efficient and productive, but also more sustainable,” Fields added. “The final building block to increase adoption is the ability to share in the cost of some of these innovations. Then we can really prove that our investments are paying off when we put them to use in the field.”

In many cases, it is helpful for a grower to start slowly. Testing a device for a year or so allows them to see how it works and what benefits it offers.

“The reaction from farmers comes at the end of the year when they call and say, ‘I just calculated my yields and revenue. Whatever you loaded onto this machine, I need it for the rest of it,'” Mills said. “The American farmer is the ultimate businessman. He knows where every penny goes. If he can’t turn one penny into two, he’s not going to make that investment.”

“Thirty or 40 years ago, farmers thought they were watering efficiently because they saw the water running into the ditch at the end of the field. Today, farmers use weather stations and soil moisture sensors. They work with soil moisture maps based on forecasts. We can do a lot more today to control when and where water is applied.” – Jason Parker of Lindsay Corporation

Giving legislators the right information

As Beach mentioned, government incentives can help encourage producers to make new investments, but the incentives must be based on the right outcomes.

“Only 20% of US cropland is irrigated, even though it only produces half of the yield,” Fields said. “That’s a pretty horrifying number. Only if we have water for crops can we become more productive in the future and feed the next 5 to 7 billion people.”

Drawing attention to the efficiency and productivity of the industry does not mean that one cannot also talk about water conservation. Lawmakers and regulators need to be informed of the data that supports this claim.

“Since 2018, we have calculated that we have helped save 469 billion gallons of water thanks to our technology,” Parker said, referring to Lindsay’s products such as remote system monitoring and control, flow meters and soil moisture monitoring.

“Over the last 50 years, water use per hectare of irrigated cropland has decreased by 25%,” Mills added. “Yet the industry has continued to increase the yield that can be obtained from that hectare. One of the messages for lawmakers is that sustainability is about more than pumping less water, because global demand for food and fiber is also increasing. We need to be able to feed and clothe the population. Then we can redesign the way the subsidy programs work so that we invest in things that give high yields for minimal input, not just rewards for pumping less.”

Mills also pointed out that agriculture needs to remain flexible in managing water based on availability. This requires in-depth regional study of aspects such as crop rotations and farming practices. These insights could help agriculture take advantage of water abundance in a particular region and adapt when water is scarce.

Then it depends on where the producers use the water, how much and with what effect.

“We’re no longer managing water at the surface like we used to,” Mills said. “Now we’re managing water in the soil. Until recently, we had no good way to do that except through scientific estimates. With the advent and advancement of subsurface moisture and nutrient sensors, we can monitor water in the root zone, where it ultimately matters to the plant.”

“We now have the technologies that show us we’re being smart about irrigation,” Fields added. “A farmer can look at some kind of irrigation planning platform on their tablet to see exactly what’s happening in the field. It’s about making sure we’re applying the right amount of water. We want to use just enough water to be more productive.”

“We no longer manage the water that is on the surface, as we used to. Now we manage the water in the soil. Until recently, we had no good way to do that except through scientific estimates. With the advent and advancement of subsurface moisture and nutrient sensors, we can monitor water in the root zone, where it ultimately matters to the plant.” -Mike Mills from Reinke Manufacturing

Learn more

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