A New Leader for the Family Farm Alliance

By Kris Polly

In this month’s cover story, we introduce our readers to Samantha Barncastle, the new executive director of the Family Farm Alliance. A dynamic leader with roots in agriculture and extensive experience as a water lawyer, Ms. Barncastle has high ambitions for what the alliance can do for its members. In our interview, she explains the alliance’s strength-in-numbers philosophy and the methods by which it creates a direct link between producers in the field and legislators in Washington, DC.

Next, we are proud to feature some of the people who truly keep irrigated agriculture in our country thriving: the longtime irrigation district employees who bring a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience to their work in the field. We interview four employees of Nebraska’s Sargent Irrigation District who boast a combined total of more than 135 years of experience.

Then, we turn from the ditch bank to the sky with a look at a new and potentially revolutionary cloud-seeding startup. Rainmaker has designed specialized drones that can fly straight into the clouds best suited to seeding; what’s more, the company has come up with a method that allows it to confirm that its cloud seeding has actually created precipitation. With these elements in place, Rainmaker is already working with numerous states and municipalities to increase precipitation, and it has its sights set even higher: In the future, according to CEO Augustus Doricko, Rainmaker aims to arrest aridification across the inland West and transform barren ground into arable land.

After that, Dave Jantzen gives us a close look at the Sentry PAC Pro, a programmed aeration controller that proactively and dynamically balances temperature and humidity inside grain bins. This proven and widely used technology can protect the value of the crops that producers work so hard to grow.

Finally, we speak with Daniele Zaccaria, a professor and agricultural water management specialist for Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis, about the new Advanced Microirrigation School for Crop Production that will be held from March 30 to April 3, 2026. With 28 expert instructors and a hybrid classroom/in-field format, the Microirrigation School will cover hydrology, irrigation system design and modernization, crop-specific water management strategies, and more. The course is accepting registrations now.

This month’s stories highlight the essential connection between policy and technology and the professionals in the field. It is essential that new technologies be field tested and proven to benefit producers; at the same time, it is necessary for the voices of water managers and irrigators to be heard by technology providers and legislators. Organizations such as the Family Farm Alliance provide essential conduits for this interchange of ideas and viewpoints—something that ultimately benefits us all.

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.