USDA NIFA Ag Groundwater Project

Agriculture

USDA NIFA Ag Groundwater Project

Sustaining Groundwater and Irrigated Agriculture in The Southwestern United States Under a Changing Climate

Enabled through a 5-year USDA-NIFA Grant starting in September 2021, interdisciplinary researchers, extension specialists, and graduate students at four universities, along with the USDA, will collaborate to examine ways to sustain irrigated agriculture in the Southwestern United States (SW US). The Agricultural Water Center has been established at UC Davis.

Photo: Sharon B. Megdal

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Project Objectives

  1. Alleviating groundwater overdraft and water quality trends in CA, central AZ, & NM
  2. Develop decision support tools for sustainable irrigated agriculture
  3. Assessing climate vulnerability in alfalfa and cotton (specifically for AZ in Pinal County)
  4. Field assessment for soil health status and modeling
  5. Conduct Grower Education Clinics (GECs) and other outreach activities

Arizona Activities

  1. Modeling the impact of irrigated agriculture on water quality (e.g., nitrate and salinity)
  2. Soil health assessment on farms adopting sustainable practices (e.g., cover crops)
  3. Consideration of future scenarios affecting water availability and sustainable measures
  4. Stakeholder engagement and research outreach through field days, webinars, and information exchange

Sustaining Groundwater and Irrigated Agriculture in the Southwestern United States under a Changing Climate

USDA NIFA AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS): Groundwater SAS

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Isaya Kisekka presentation

Our Vision: To alleviate groundwater overdraft and water quality deterioration in major aquifer systems and advance socioeconomic resilience of irrigated agriculture through agroecological and technological innovations

Presentataion

January 24, 2023 Project Report

On January 24, UArizona personnel hosted a project report on the Arizona component of the USDA-NIFA project, “Sustaining Groundwater and Irrigated Agriculture in the Southwestern United States Under a Changing Climate.” The University of Arizona is partnering with the University of California, Davis and others to conduct a five-year research project on creating modern sustainable irrigated agriculture systems, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Event Page Featuring Video and PPT

Project Personnel at The University of Arizona

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Dr. Sharon B. Megdal
Director, WRRC

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Debankur Sanyal

Dr. Debankur Sanyal
Soil Health Specialist

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simone william

Ms. Simone Williams
Grad Research Assoc.

Contact

For more information and to be placed on our contact list for future meetings and materials, please contact Debankur Sanyal (dsanyal@arizona.edu) or Sharon Megdal (smegda@arizona.edu) and visit https://agwater.ucdavis.edu/.