Thoughts from World Ag Expo

Recently, I was able to travel out to Tulare, California, to visit World Ag Expo 2023. I always appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the irrigation industry directly from agriculture professionals. I’m still fairly new to the agriculture side of irrigation, but I think I’m learning quickly thanks to shows like this.

Networking is still an important part of this industry. So many people were connecting and talking about the trade all over the grounds. There’s so much to gain from building a professional network, even if it’s just increasing the number of people a farmer can reach out to when something goes wrong during the season.

It’s important for our association to be able to advocate for the issues that will make a difference for the growers doing the work every day.

Having that face time is also what made it possible for Irrigation Association CEO Natasha Rankin, MBA, CAE, to share some of the concerns and priorities of the IA for the upcoming farm bill discussion directly with a few of the lawmakers who will be working on it. It’s important for our association to be able to advocate for the issues that will make a difference for the growers doing the work every day, and it’s not often that the IA can do that directly, face to face to the people who are responsible for making those decisions.

It’s also a great opportunity for young people to engage with irrigation and the larger farming industry altogether. Throughout the show, kids were everywhere, whether brought directly by their parents or as part of a school field trip. Events like these can be some of the first places where children get to see how a farm actually works, the equipment involved and the expertise at play. From my perspective, it’s also an opportunity for them to start to consciously understand the role of water in daily life on the farm and how much water is involved just to put food on the table.

With all of that in mind, this is maybe the right point for a quick reminder that it’s time to save the date for this year’s Irrigation Show and Education Week in San Antonio, Texas, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1. For more information about the show itself, head to irrigationshow.org.

Irrigation Today Editor-in-Chief