On July 29, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act of 2020 by a voice vote. The American Soybean Association is pleased the bill includes changing the cost-share ratio for Inland Waterways Trust Fund-financed lock and dam projects to 65% general fund/35% IWTF through fiscal year 2027, a policy priority for soy growers.
Soy growers applaud the bipartisan efforts to recognize the significant role that inland waterways play in the United States. This change would be of great value to soybean growers, who rely on our country’s waterways infrastructure to stay competitive with other soybean-producing countries like Brazil and Argentina. The inland waterways system is the most cost-efficient mode of transporting agriculture and agriculture-related products. ASA looks forward to final passage of new WRDA legislation.
CAIA member companies provide scholarships to students with a desire to pursue a career in the agricultural irrigation industry. Here are this year’s sponsors and winners:
Brayan Garcia, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Irrigation Design & Construction LLC and RDO Water
Alexa Sutter, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Buckner Superior
Jose Amezcua, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Agri-Valley Irrigation
Joshua Porter, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Fresno Valves & Castings and Agri-Valley Irrigation
Liliana Reyes Solorio, Fresno State University, Western Ag and Turf
Scholarship recipients also automatically receive student memberships in CAIA for the duration of their scholarship period. To join these sponsoring companies in supporting our leaders of tomorrow, contact Jane Townsend at jane@agamsi.com.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Water and Power conducted a legislative hearing in July in Washington, D.C. Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen was one of three witnesses who testified and answered questions online. The purpose of the hearing was to receive testimony on five bills related to the Bureau of Reclamation.
In addition to the bills discussed at the hearing, Keppen urged the subcommittee to consider additional legislation to address aging water infrastructure and insufficient water storage projects. That same week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resourses Committee conducted a hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic. The written testimony of Doug Kemper of the Colorado Water Congress included a section prepared by the Alliance that addressed impacts of the pandemic to Western irrigated agriculture.
Although the irrigation industry is not able to gather in San Antonio in December for the annual Irrigation Show and Education Week as planned, we are excited to bring many of the popular aspects of the show to you safely and virtually through Education Week+.
Registration is open for all of these digital opportunities. Go to www.irrigationshow.org to learn more and register.
Each year, the Irrigation Association honors those who have made significant contributions to the irrigation industry. Following are the 2020 award recipients:
Innovator AwardStephen W. Smith, PhD, FASIC, CAIS, CLIA, Wade Water LLC
Smith is being recognized for his work toward the creation and development of the Irrigation Innovation Consortium in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Excellence in Education AwardIsaya Kisekka, PhD, University of California, Davis
Kisekka is being honored for his work as an outstanding educator and for his efforts in reviving the irrigation curriculum at UC Davis.
USDA ARS Sensor-Based VRI SCADA Management project
This project provided a decision support system that could produce the time varying prescription maps needed by variable rate irrigation center pivot control panels. Project partners included: USDA-ARS Soil and Water Management Research Unit in Bushland, Texas (project lead); Beltsville, Texas, ARS team; Acclima Inc.; Dynamax Inc.; and Valley Irrigation.
For more information about these awards and the recipients, go to www.irrigation.org/awards.
The IA’s annual new product contest has gone virtual, and this year, special voting will be open to the public for a “People’s Choice” award.
Check out the showcase of new ag irrigation and ag specialty products and technologies that have debuted in the last year. People’s Choice voting will be Nov. 2-18. All winners will be announced Nov. 20.
Students pursuing irrigation-related degrees at post-secondary institutions with a graduation date of December 2021 are encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply for an IA scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 is Feb. 15, 2021.
The virtual 2021 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC) will be held Jan. 5-7, 2021. This National Cotton Council-coordinated annual forum provides attendees with information for helping cotton growers make key production/marketing-related decisions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual 2021 BWCC replaces the in-person event that was originally planned to be held in New Orleans.
The virtual platform will include three days of live-streamed individual reports and panel discussions from the 11 technical sessions along with poster presentations and seminars. During and after the event, attendees will be able to submit questions to oral or poster presenters via www.cotton.org/beltwide using on-demand viewing. In the weeks ahead, that site will be updated with information about meeting registration, schedules and other BWCC-related activities.
The National Ground Water Association published a new educational resource for private well owners concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
NGWA’s PFAS and Private Well Owners: What You Need to Know fact sheet is an accessible and easy-to-understand document written by members of NGWA’s PFAS Task Force focusing on everything private well owners should know about the impacts of PFAS on their wells.
The sheet is available for free download. This webpage is a complete resource center about the groundwater contaminant, including an FAQ document, a top 10 facts sheet, a homeowner checklist and more.
NGWA has long been an industry leader in providing PFAS research, education and resources to the public and scientific communities. In 2018, NGWA published Groundwater and PFAS: State of Knowledge and Practice, which was one of the first PFAS guidance documents to be released.
NGWA has announced that Groundwater Week 2020 will be an entirely virtual event Dec. 8-11. Registration is currently open.
With the steady stream of new information and guidance still coming out from government agencies, Western Growers has created a COVID-19 resources page to make it easier for specialty crop growers to navigate and access the materials relevant to their business operations.
The resources page has specific sections on the agricultural, business loan and business tax provisions of the CARES Act; the paid sick and paid family leave mandates in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; WG-developed guidance for our membership; government guidance for employers; important documents and posters our members may want to download; and a handy set of frequently asked questions.
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