I see agriculture as one of the most impactful ways to make a positive impact on climate-related challenges, and about 10 years ago I became enamored by the idea of vertical farming, but I had no experience in farming. At the time, I was working at an environmental nonprofit focused on helping companies support projects that improve watershed conditions. While looking for an agricultural project for a company with a dairy supply chain in California, I learned about Netafim’s subsurface drip irrigation system that makes use of manure effluent as a replacement for synthetic fertilizer to improve water quality and water use efficiency — the system is called SDI-E (subsurface drip irrigation-effluent). I had the opportunity to tour the dairy farm with the company and the nonprofit partner that helped put the project together: sustainable conservation. My interest in agriculture grew, so I was thrilled when I was contacted about an opportunity to work with Netafim directly. Since then, I’ve enjoyed learning about irrigation’s role in regenerative agriculture practices. The more I learn, the more I realize I have so much more to learn. I feel fortunate to work with people who have spent a lifetime in irrigation and farming to learn from, and I enjoy bringing a different perspective to irrigation. When I got involved, I was most focused on the water-related outcomes, but the more I learn, I’m impressed by drip irrigation’s ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly nitrous oxide and methane — two potent greenhouse gases.
I’m proud to be a part of Netafim’s “extensive crops” initiative, which is an effort to convert flood irrigated commodity crops to subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). We have seen so much media coverage of alfalfa, forage, or other crops grown in the Western US that account for a significant portion of agricultural water use. Unfortunately, one of the most overlooked solutions is addressing how these crops are irrigated. Netafim and their team of agronomists have successfully converted hundreds of thousands of acres of alfalfa from flood to SDI, decreasing water use significantly, while maintaining a healthy crop and improving yields. Permanent SDI systems last over 15 years when well-maintained and there are farmers still using the same system, they installed 40 years ago that can accommodate a multitude of crop varieties, providing maximum flexibility to farmers as crop demands change. The photo I shared is from 2022 when I had the opportunity to stand in a flood irrigated alfalfa field and an SDI alfalfa field that were located next to each other. Not only was the SDI crop much healthier and more uniform, but I noticed the SDI field had an abundance of insects and to me, it smelled positively fragrant. My priority with this initiative is to help farmers find cost share opportunities to make the conversion to drip – whether those come from public (federal or state) programs, or private sector companies interested in supporting projects that can deliver environmental benefits to help them meet their “water positive,” regenerative agriculture, or carbon reduction goals.
Technology is playing a major role in how we address our climate challenges. To me, smart irrigation is an opportunity to apply all the technological advances available to our farm communities to grow more abundant, healthier crops using fewer resources. This includes how we control our irrigation systems — we now have digital operating systems that can engage the next generation of farmers in playing a role in growing food sustainably. Outside of individual food choices, our largest water footprint at home comes from outdoor landscaping, so efficient landscape irrigation solutions are also critical to improving our urban and individual water footprints. Finally, I am still obsessed with indoor agriculture, and I believe this will play a crucial role in how we grow certain crops moving forward. Indoor systems also must maximize production and minimize resource use, and the most efficient (drip) irrigation systems have a huge role to play.
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