A National View on Arizona Agriculture 

By Kris Polly

In this month’s cover story, we have the pleasure of interviewing Congressman Andy Biggs, who represents Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Biggs speaks about the importance of Arizona agriculture, the challenges it faces, and the legislation he has introduced to protect and further it. 

We also feature Natasha Rankin, the CEO of the Irrigation Association (IA). Ahead of the IA’s Irrigation Show event in December, Ms. Rankin tells us about the organization’s many activities across domains such as training and certification, standard-setting, technology adoption, workforce development, and advocacy. 

Padinare Unnikrishna is the chief of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission’s Engineering Services Division. He tells us about the many significant projects underway to maintain and modernize the agency’s levees, dams, and other infrastructure along the U.S.‑Mexico border and to manage sediment in the Rio Grande. 

Reclamation District 108 (RD108) in Northern California delivers water through a system of 400 miles of canals and drains, 80 miles of which are concrete lined. Facing water shortages and persistent issues with cracking in its concrete-lined canals, RD108 opted to try AquaLastic, a sealant product. So far, says Deputy Manager Jordon Navarrot, the results have been highly promising. 

After that, we speak with Todd Feenstra, the president of the Michigan-based hydrogeologic consultancy Tritium. Having worked with numerous agricultural irrigators with high-capacity wells, Tritium created a coalition called Midwest Water Stewards to bring the irrigators together to monitor area groundwater and ensure that their water use is responsible and sustainable. 

Last, we check in with two regional industry associations. Curtis Lutje, the president of the board of the California Agricultural Irrigation Association, tells us how the association connects and advocates for its manufacturer and dealer members. Cassidey Plum, the executive director of the Idaho Irrigation Equipment Association, tells us about the association’s similar support for product manufacturers and sellers and water managers in its area. 

Irrigation districts, federal agencies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, consultancies, regional coalitions, and industry groups—all are part of the mosaic of irrigated agriculture in the United States. We salute the hard work of all these sectors and invite you to read about them in this month’s issue. 

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.