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
Project Objectives
- Alleviating groundwater overdraft and water quality trends in CA, central AZ, & NM
- Develop decision support tools for sustainable irrigated agriculture
- Assessing climate vulnerability in alfalfa and cotton (specifically for AZ in Pinal County)
- Field assessment for soil health status and modeling
- Conduct Grower Education Clinics (GECs) and other outreach activities
Arizona Activities
- Modeling the impact of irrigated agriculture on water quality (e.g., nitrate and salinity)
- Soil health assessment on farms adopting sustainable practices (e.g., cover crops)
- Consideration of future scenarios affecting water availability and sustainable measures
- Stakeholder engagement and research outreach through field days, webinars, and information exchange
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).
Project Personnel at The University of Arizona
Dr. Sharon B. Megdal
Director, WRRC
Dr. Debankur Sanyal
Soil Health Specialist
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/.