The Irrigation Association, Fairfax, Virginia, has opened registration for its Irrigation Agriculture Faculty Academy June 8-10, featuring brand new topics like fertigation and chemigation.
Intended for irrigation ag educators, the series seeks to not only provide new information to attendees, but to give them the ability to pass their new knowledge on to their students.
“The Irrigation Agriculture Faculty Academy is a readily accessible and convenient way for teachers and educators to learn about new topics that they might not otherwise have available to them,” says AJ Brown, a member of the academy’s committee and a data specialist and agronomist at Colorado State University’s Agriculture Water Quality Program. “I love how accessible new educational topics are in a way that almost anybody can access, and educators can take it home to their students.”
New this year to the Irrigation Agriculture Faculty Academy are two webinars on fertigation and chemigation led by Jacob LaRue, PE, independent irrigation consultant.
Brown explains that adding education on fertigation and chemigation stems from the lack of widespread adoption of both practices in agriculture. He attributes this lack of adoption to ag professionals not knowing enough about fertigation and chemigation.
“It’s a very important topic right now, and it’s becoming ever more important to save resources, to protect our environment and to use precise application of fertilizer,” Brown says. “… The more that we can learn about this topic and the more that we can spread it out to educators so that they can train the next generation of students, the better. That’s how that adoption is going to happen, because the technology is ahead of the adoption curve right now.”
The two fertigation and chemigation webinars will be on June 9. From noon to 1 p.m. ET, LaRue will instruct the basics of fertigation and chemigation and regulatory impacts. Attendees will learn the fundamentals of fertigation and chemigation and the situations that are best suited for its use. This session will also cover regulatory and sustainability considerations, as well as the hardware and equipment needed to apply with center pivot and liner systems and the potential impact fertigation/chemigation has on irrigation systems.
From 2 to 3 p.m. on the same day, LaRue will lead a webinar on fertigation and chemigation application based on data. Building upon the prior webinar, attendees will dive into the actual application process and the steps needed for successful implementation. The session will explore the needs, techniques, materials and calculations for both fertigation and chemigation used for weeds, insects and diseases.
Additional topics that a part of the academy include introductions to pumps and variable frequency drives led by Bill Green and Kaomine Vang, both of the Fresno State Center for Irrigation Technology, at noon to 1 p.m. and 2 to 3 p.m. on June 8; Internet of Things, edge-computing and deep learning in agriculture led by Xin Qiao of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from noon to 1 p.m. June 10; and a panel discussion on irrigation industry hiring trends and needs featuring panelists Christine Cottrell, talent acquisition, Lindsay Corporation; Patrick Koop, PHR, human resources, Jain Distribution Holdings; and Theresa Parra, SPHR, people and development, Netafim; from 2 to 3 p.m. June 10.
The deadline to register is May 31.
For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/3N6KRc3.
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