Planting seeds for irrigation's future

This summer offered reminders across the country that the drivers for greater ag irrigation efficiency are not going away.

In the West, the Colorado River Basin continues to confront difficult questions about future supplies and operations. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently completed its environmental review for managing Lake Powell and Lake Mead after 2026, emphasizing greater flexibility as conditions change.
Farther east, Virginia experienced its second-driest water year on record by mid-July, while North Carolina endured significant drought impact on crops, pastures and water resources.

The circumstances vary, but they point toward a common challenge: helping producers remain productive even in times of drought and uncertainty. Meeting that challenge requires investment, innovation and implementation working together.

First is investment. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act established a six-year Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, funding path totaling $18.53 billion through fiscal year 2031. House and Senate Farm Bill proposals in 2026 would adjust some of those annual funding levels, but the broader picture is encouraging: the levels under discussion remain substantially higher than those under the 2018 Farm Bill.

That creates a significant opportunity for irrigated agriculture. EQIP can help producers invest in better irrigation systems, water management and other conservation practices. But on-farm efficiency does not begin at the farm gate.

The Bureau of Reclamation provides an important complement. WaterSMART generally supports irrigation districts and other water-delivery entities rather than individual on-farm systems. Those investments can modernize the infrastructure supplying farms and create the conditions for producers to make their own improvements. Through the EQIP WaterSMART Initiative, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Bureau of Reclamation already coordinate investments so system-level modernization and on-farm efficiency can reinforce each other.

“Whatever legislation ultimately advances, federal conservation policy should continue creating pathways for technologies that improve both productivity and water management.”

Second is innovation. Federal programs have to keep pace with the irrigation technologies producers are considering. Conservation practice standards, payment schedules and program rules can either accelerate or slow adoption. The current Farm Bill debate has included encouraging proposals around precision agriculture, irrigation flexibility and modernization. Whatever legislation ultimately advances, federal conservation policy should continue creating pathways for technologies that improve both productivity and water management.

Finally comes implementation. The NRCS is working through organizational and operational changes intended to strengthen conservation delivery. Changes to that scale can produce short-term friction. But there is also a larger opportunity: pairing significantly greater federal investment with more effective delivery and greater use of qualified private-sector expertise.

That is where the Irrigation Association’s developing partnership with the NRCS can contribute. A more streamlined path for qualified IA-certified professionals to become Technical Service Providers can add capacity for planning, design, implementation and verification. The Bureau of Reclamation will also need to be ready to deliver, helping modernize the larger systems that serve irrigated agriculture.

The federal government has more resources and increasingly sophisticated tools available to support agricultural water efficiency. The next challenge is turning them into results in the field. Aligning investment, innovation and implementation can help producers make better use of available water while strengthening the productivity and resilience of American agriculture.

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