Irrigation takes a front seat Jan. 26 Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference

Jan. 14, 2022

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

 Fast facts:

• Register https://bit.ly/Ark-Soil-Water-22
• CEUs available for crop advisers
• Farmers to share irrigation improvement experiences

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LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas farmers and other agriculture professionals will share how adoption of new technology and practices have improved irrigation efficiency as part of the online Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference on Jan. 26.

Arkansas agriculture relies heavily on irrigation, with the 2014 Arkansas Water Plan noting that groundwater use in the state increased tenfold between 1950 and 2010. Arkansas has 4.2 million acres under irrigation, third after California’s 8.4 million acres and Nebraska’s 7.7 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey, the most recent available.

“Water is our lifeline in Arkansas agriculture,” said Tina Gray Teague, a professor of entomology and plant science at Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture who founded this conference more than two decades ago. “It’s a finite source and we have to do everything we can to ensure both quality and quantity.”

Jan Yingling, White County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, one of the program speakers, said “quality irrigation water is vital to the survival and level of success as a producer. If producers don’t take care of the irrigation water that they have on their farms and learn to conserve and protect it, then they are essentially hurting their own production.” 

Efforts are being made by researchers and educators with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Arkansas State University, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and USDA-Agricultural Research Service on multiple fronts to help users make irrigation more efficient. This includes research into new production techniques and irrigation technologies, promoting use of soil moisture sensors, cover crop growth and incentive programs such as Most Crop per Drop, which encourages producers to use these new techniques and win prizes.

“These irrigation technologies can assist them as they conserve and protect their water supplies by lowering water usage, decreasing energy usage, lowering labor costs, decreasing plant stress, increasing yields, therefore, increasing their bottom line,” Yingling said.

This year’s meeting will be produced online, running from 10 a.m. - noon. Continuing education units are available for certified crop advisers. Register for the meeting: https://bit.ly/Ark-Soil-Water-22. The meeting will recorded and available for later replay.

The agenda:

• Introduction — Kevin Cochran – USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Services, assistant state conservationist for field operation-south, moderator
• Welcome — Michele Reba, Ph.D. – USDA-ARS research hydrologist and acting research leader at the Delta Water Management Research Unit.
• Early Adoption of Irrigation Technologies: A Farmer’s Perspective
  • Brandon Cain – White County producer
  • Jan Yingling – White County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

• On-Farm Improvement of Irrigation Practices
  • Jennifer James – Jackson County producer

• Irrigation Automation: Applications and Opportunities
  • Clay Smith – Greene county producer
  • Joe Massey, Ph.D. - USDA-Agriculture Research Service-DWMRU research agronomist.

The conference will also include the Conservationist of the Year Award and Most Crop Per Drop presentation. There will also be a virtual poster competition for students.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uark.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system. 

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.  

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu