Water

Smart irrigation scheduling benefits producers

As climate variability increasingly affects producers across the Southeastern U.S., Wes Porter spends a lot of time thinking about water — specifically, crop irrigation — and how available tools can benefit farmers threefold. “In some... more »

Compliance date extension proposed for pre-harvest ag water requirements

On July 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to extend the compliance dates for the pre-harvest agricultural water provisions as outlined in the recent 2021 agricultural water... more »

Rain Bird offers water-saving drip irrigation system

Rain Bird Agriculture, a leading manufacturer and provider of precision irrigation products, recently launched S5 Smart Spacing for Pressure Compensating Heavywall Dripline, the ultimate in smart irrigation for growers of high-value fruit and permanent crops.... more »

Just wash it: tap water rinse is a healthy habit

During focus groups conducted by the Alliance for Food and Farming (AFF), the importance of washing produce was a recurring theme as consumers discussed produce safety. In fact, washing fresh produce was raised unprompted by... more »

Arizona passes $1.2 billion water infrastructure legislation

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation that invests $1.2 billion over three years to fund projects that will bring additional water to the state to secure Arizona’s water future, improve existing water infrastructure and implement effective... more »

Screens shield plants, conserve water during growing

Saving water is one of the biggest challenges of modern agriculture. According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, in 2050 it will be necessary to produce up to 60% more food to feed... more »

West Coast growers battle water shortages

Growers on the West Coast are facing their toughest water challenges in recent history. Declining water tables, lack of spring rains, historically low snowpacks, and reservoirs and stream flows at historic low levels are keeping... more »

Drought hits Northern California growers hard

As California toils through a third consecutive drought year, many Sacramento Valley farmers, well known for supporting waterfowl that stop along the Pacific Flyway, are being left high and dry. The farmers are facing water-supply... more »

California bill would shift water use from farmers to state

A California state senator is proposing to use $1.5 billion in taxpayer funds to buy water rights from farmers. By doing so, according to Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, the state could avoid some of the... more »

Urban water use is latest target for drought cutbacks

With farmers across California already facing severe cuts in irrigation supplies, state officials are now imposing additional aggressive conservation measures for urban consumers and local water agencies across the state. Emergency regulations, adopted May 24... more »