Objective 4: Enhance the transfer of irrigation technologies and management alternatives emphasizing

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Objective 4 Enhance the transfer of irrigation
technologies and management alternatives
emphasizing economic and environmental benefits.
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Activities
Surveys and evaluations

• Georgia 6-year Ag Water Pumping study (used in
  models and irrigation scenarios) for development
  of the Flint River Basin Water Development and
  Conservation Plan.

• Louisiana Irrigated crops, irrigation
  distribution systems, water source, materials
  applied with irrigation water, energy source, and
  some cost information. Water use (pumped and from
  rainfall rainfall) for irrigation of rice and
  soybeans for different irrigation systems.

• Delaware 178 catch-can evaluations of
  center-pivot systems. The grower is given a
  report showing average irrigation amount,
  coefficient of uniformity (CU), the variation in
  application along the system, a comparison of
  measured and design irrigation amounts, and
  identification of problems.

• Florida 499 citrus groves, representing 95 of
  the total acreage in the Indian River area.
  25,000 acres in the Peace River area (8 of the
  total)

• Missouri Irrigation surveys were conducted for
  North Missouri and the boot heel area

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Irrigation management tools

• Louisiana New irrigation investment decision aid
  in a spreadsheet format to ensure that all the
  costs and revenues associated with adopting an
  irrigation system are adequately evaluated.

• Delaware Irrigation scheduling spreadsheet using
  web based ET data that presents output (that can
  be corrected by field measurements) in a readily
  understandable graphical form.

• Arkansas Spreadsheet for estimating irrigation
  pumping cost

• NRCS Alabama Irrigator Pocket Guide

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Web based information delivery

• Missouri Irrigation website has been developed

• Florida Irrigation ontology (enables knowledge
  sharing and reuse for irrigation information
  resources, with a commitment to use vocabulary in
  a way that is consistent ) is being created as a
  web-based tool with graphical interface for real
  time editing

• Weather and ET data available in a number of
  states

• E-Extension

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Audience
State Agencies, policy makers

• Flint River Basin Water Development and
  Conservation Plan. The plan will guide state
  regulatory actions with respect to permitting and
  conservation programs for agricultural
  irrigation.

Growers

• Arkansas State University hosts an annual meeting
  entitled Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation
  Education Conference.

• ARS Stoneville Mississipi hosted the second in a
  series of meetings between producers and
  researchers to delineated drivers and preliminary
  principles of agricultural systems, and explored
  the impact of drivers on production systems in
  the Southeastern US.

• Florida workshops for growers, production
  managers, and consultants field days where BMPs
  and related equipment have been demonstrated and
  in-grove training programs for agricultural
  workers (in English and Spanish).

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Multi-State

• Joint Georgia-Louisiana Turfgrass Association
  Meeting in Baton Rouge, LA. Chemigation and
  Principles and Landscape Irrigation Auditing.

• Georgia and Alabama irrigation economists,
  regulators and irrigation specialists reviewed
  options for enhancing irrigation opportunities in
  central and southern Alabama counties that have
  traditionally depended upon rainfall only.

• Georgia and Suwannee Water Management District
  of Florida to bring automated water metering to
  the districts irrigators.

• Arkansas and Missouri pumping cost spreadsheet.

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Future priorities?
E-Extension?
Irrigation scheduling programs (modules)?
Irrigation Association programs?
Landscape/ornamental irrigation?
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