Ronald Rayner Receives Honorary Doctorate at U of A Commencement
At the University of Arizona’s Spring 2026 commencement ceremony, F. Ronald “Ron” Rayner, a long-time friend of the WRRC and pillar of Arizona’s agricultural community, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences (CALES). Rayner is a fourth-generation farmer and a national leader and innovator in arid-land agriculture; he helped develop a minimum-tillage double cropping system, which has been shown to reduce water consumption by more than 34%. Now widely called "the Rayner Method," it has become a model for sustainable crops in arid climates. He is an advocate for student success at the U of A, and his business, A Tumbling T Ranches, shares water-use data and expertise with university students and researchers. Rayner has provided funding support to Cooperative Extension, the Arizona Experiment Station, and renovations to CALES’ main building. He serves on the WRRC’s external advisory committee and provides a valuable perspective on topics relating to water in agriculture. The WRRC would like to offer Ron our congratulations on this recognition and thanks for his contributions to higher education in Arizona.