Planting seeds for irrigation's future

In agriculture, what we reap at harvest begins long before the crop breaks through the soil. We prepare the ground, plant at the right time, water carefully and trust that steady work will produce results.

Policy work follows a similar pattern. We build relationships, share our story, identify practical problems and offer solutions. Sometimes those efforts produce quick results. More often, they take patience, persistence and continued attention. Here are three advocacy seeds we are watching and tending to carefully.

The first is the 2026 Farm Bill. At the time of this writing, the Farm Bill has passed the House, but its fate in the Senate remains uncertain. That uncertainty is exactly why the IA’s continued engagement is so important.

During the IA’s Advocacy Summit in March, members carried a clear message to Capitol Hill: Federal conservation policy should help producers adopt modern irrigation technologies that improve water management and productivity (read more on page 34). That starts with continued strong funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

For irrigated agriculture, EQIP can help producers make real improvements in the field, including upgrades to irrigation systems, adoption of precision technologies and better water management practices. Continued high levels of EQIP funding give producers the ability to plan beyond a single fiscal year and deliver conservation outcomes where water constraints, drought and input costs are shaping day-to-day decisions.

The IA is also encouraging Congress to provide stronger support for precision irrigation. Higher cost-share levels for precision irrigation technologies would help more producers overcome upfront cost barriers and move directly to tools that improve efficiency, resilience and competitiveness.

We are also seeking targeted relief from EQIP’s irrigation history requirement, which can limit funding availability for certain irrigation-related practices. Our hope is that Congress will provide more flexibility so producers are not discouraged from adopting better technology because of how a field has been managed in the past.

Federal conservation policy should help producers adopt modern irrigation technologies that improve water management and productivity.

A second seed is our work on trade. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is scheduled for a joint review this summer, and the IA has urged federal officials to preserve a stable, rules-based North American trade framework. Canada and Mexico are critical markets for U.S.-made irrigation equipment, and predictable trade rules help companies invest, manufacture, export and serve growers across borders.

The IA has emphasized that U.S. irrigation manufacturers are innovators and exporters. A stable USMCA framework helps protect those gains while supporting the farms and landscapes that rely on efficient irrigation equipment.

A third seed is already taking root through the IA’s new Memorandum of Understanding with the NRCS. Signed during the Advocacy Summit, the MOU is intended to streamline the path for certain IA-certified agricultural irrigation professionals to participate in the NRCS’s Technical Service Provider program for irrigation-related services. The IA and NRCS are working to launch this effort in target states by fall.

Qualified irrigation professionals can help with planning, design, documentation and verification, and this effort is one way the IA is working to strengthen the value of its agricultural certifications while supporting producers and NRCS delivery capacity.

None of these efforts are guaranteed to grow exactly as planned. Congress may move slowly. Trade discussions may shift. Federal implementation may take time. But agriculture teaches patience.

That is the work the IA is doing now: planting ideas, cultivating relationships and helping policymakers understand what irrigation professionals and manufacturers bring to the table.

Andrew D. Morris is the director of policy and technical affairs for the Irrigation Association.