Ensuring Quality in Irrigation Devices and Courses
WaterSense is a program that was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2006 to identify and promote the very best water-conservation products and training courses. A WaterSense label is a nationally recognized symbol of quality. In addition, WaterSense-labeled products and certification providers are included in the program’s searchable online directory. In this […]
Cultivating Leaders for Washington State
In 1976, a group of individuals lead by Stu Bledsoe, the director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, identified the need for a program to develop leaders for the agricultural, forestry, and natural resources sectors of the state’s economy. To meet the need, they created the AgForestry Leadership Program. Through immersion in a series […]
Volume 10 Issue 1 January Washington Edition 2019
Everyone reading this magazine knows irrigation-district managers and irrigated-crop farmers with decades of experience and hard-won knowledge. It is precisely this kind of broad, deep expertise that we want to instill in the irrigation leaders of tomorrow. But in an era when technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the economy is ever […]
Cal Poly’s Thriving Irrigation Training Center
For nearly 30 years, the Irrigation Training and Research Center at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) has been supporting the university’s thriving BioResource and Agricultural Engineering (BRAE) department. While many universities have downsized or eliminated their ag engineering programs, Cal Poly’s BRAE department has seen its enrollment triple in the […]
Arizona’s Practitioner-Led Water Management Program
In the desert states of the American Southwest, water management is a challenge and an art. Municipalities, irrigation districts, builders, attorneys, and policymakers must all be intimately familiar with the full spectrum of water-related challenges they may face. In Arizona, the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona (ABWC) and Arizona State University’s Fulton Schools of […]
The Next Generation of Nebraska Water Leader
The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, founded in 2011, is a professional leadership program that trains water resources professionals in leadership skills and technical knowledge. Over the course of six sessions, participants learn about the different geographical areas of the state of Nebraska and about a variety of water subjects and leadership skills, all while building […]
Volume 10 Issue 1 January 2019
Everyone reading this magazine knows irrigation district managers and irrigated-crop farmers with decades of experience and hard-won knowledge. It is precisely this kind of broad, deep expertise that we want to instill in the irrigation leaders of tomorrow. But in an era when technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the economy is […]
Security at Kennewick Irrigation District
At Kennewick Irrigation District (KID), security is top of mind. In recent years, the district has participated in several staff safety trainings and implemented important new safety measures in its new building. KID has twice hosted Officer Philip Ball, a police-training specialist and owner of the Situational Awareness Institute, to train KID staff on active-shooter […]
The High-Tech Way to Fight E. Coli
Ecoli-Sense is a startup company that has invented a nanomaterials-based device for instantaneously checking water supplies for E. coli contamination. Working either on the basis of a hand-held testing device or buoys that stay in a water body continuously, Ecoli-Sense’s system is both high tech and more affordable than traditional methods. In this interview, Ecoli-Sense’s […]
Why Solar Is an Intelligent Investment for Irrigators
As a state with cool weather and a lot of sun, Nebraska is an ideal location for solar-energy installations. Michael Shonka, the founder and president of Omaha-based Solar Heat and Electric, has been in the solar industry for over 30 years. In 2013, he installed a 25-kilowatt solar power installation on a center pivot for […]