IA awards Q&A: SDI-E project

Domonic Rossini, team leader agronomy west at Netafim USA

2022 Vanguard Award

What does receiving the Vanguard Award mean to you?

Receiving the IA Vanguard Award on behalf of Netafim is a testament to the power of partnership in making a real impact on how our natural resources are used in agriculture. There is no chance Netafim could have done this alone. By tapping into our partners’ collective resources and specialized areas of expertise, we were able to jointly innovate a solution that not only succeeds but is also commercially scalable to dairies across the nation. This award further validates how we have united the dairy industry behind a new solution.

What inspired the creation of the SDI-E project?

The inspiration came directly from our dairy farmers during a time of drought, who saw all their wastewater from their dairy processing as a potentially untapped resource. With water conservation a critical issue right in our backyard, we saw the urgency of creating a solution with a near-immediate impact and went to work. We also found that this wastewater contained very high levels of nitrogen and other valuable nutrients, resulting in a fertilizer blend that transformed a previously sunk cost into a newfound resource for dairy farmers.

What were some challenges you all had to overcome when working on the project?

The first challenge was figuring out the most efficient and economically viable way to utilize this effluent water through drip irrigation systems, especially for a procedure that had never been done before. Utilizing our existing equipment and personnel, we ran extensive tests and evaluations. It was critical for us to assess and determine the proper equipment and standard operating procedures that would make the entire system run effectively and consistently. After extensive testing, we came up with a solution that was economically viable and beneficial to dairy farmers.

The second challenge was adoption and scalability. California’s dairy industry is the nation’s largest, with many farmers having spent generations using more traditional methods, so we had to ensure our process was economically viable. The public-private nature of our partnership further legitimized our project in the eyes of the farmers, as did our collective research showing how outputs would very quickly offset installation and other upfront costs that often prevent the adoption of new technology and processes.

What are your goals that you’d like to see the SDI-E project accomplish?

The biggest goal is to reduce the amount of water used by our dairy farms without impacting the environment or sacrificing quality, while still increasing crop output. Looking into the future, it is my vision that this solution’s widespread adoption will allow farmers to grow more efficiently and ultimately rise to the challenges of a growing population and the food insecurity concerns that come with it.

What tips do you have for today’s irrigation professionals, especially for those interested in creating similar projects?

Partnership and a shared vision go a long way. By linking your own areas of knowledge and experience with a committed group of industry peers, ideas become tangible and actionable. Taking a “dream team” approach to connect the industry’s finest farmers, engineers, soil nutrient experts and other specialists went a long way in turning a collective vision into reality.

Read more about the other 2022 IA awards program recipients in agriculture irrigation and landscape irrigation.