Managing Agriculture’s Most Precious Resource
By Dan Jacobs, Senior Editor, CropLife Magazine
The agricultural industry faces no issue as provocative and contentious as water. Glyphosate, the near ubiquitous herbicide — and to a lesser degree, dicamba — have certainly garnered their share of headlines and litigation. And while it wouldn’t be easy (or perhaps prudent) to ban those products from use, there are alternatives.
When it comes to water, we have no other options.
Growers might not get water from their local ag retailer, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help their grower-customers manage it.
The focus on water management has only increased following decades of drought in the West and Southwest U.S., and concerns over algae blooms in the Great Lakes and elsewhere. Technology and improved irrigation equipment have helped mitigate concerns. And ag retailers are critical to the future of successful water management.
“Agriculture is the biggest user of freshwater, using over 70% of all fresh water,” says Michael Santiago, CEO of FloraPulse, a Davis, CA-based provider of irrigation guidance for orchards and vineyards. “Water is also the biggest input in agriculture and accurate irrigation is critical to keeping crops healthy, avoiding diseases, and maximizing crop quality and yield. Water management is thus critical for both conserving and efficiently using this precious resource to produce healthy, nutritious food.”
Like every other aspect of agriculture, technology has advanced the efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation equipment.
According to Kendra Wenzel with Nelson Irrigation, retailers offer “pressurized systems instead of flood [which allows for] less diversion and less return flow.” In addition, “the invention of center pivot and evolution from high-pressure to low-pressure sprinklers save water and energy.”
Just as important as the equipment is how the irrigation is controlled.
“Proper water management directly affects crop yield and productivity,” says Michael Ott, CEO of Cquesta, a Chicago-based company focused on carbon sequestration. “Climate change is expected to alter precipitation patterns, increase temperature extremes, and exacerbate water scarcity in many regions. Climate stress leads to more water extremes, more floods, and more droughts. Newer genetics help mitigate this risk, but the situation will only worsen.
“In the 1980s, there were three to four billion-dollar [disasters] per year due to [weather and] climate. Now there are 18 to 20 per year [inflation adjusted]. It will be crucial for farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions and mitigate the impacts of water stress on agriculture.”
Clark Bell is CEO of Aqua-Yield, which uses nanoparticles to carry thousands of fertilizer ions or active ingredient molecules through irrigation systems rapidly into the plant cell by a plant mechanism called endocytosis. He also helps run a family sod farm, which often is used to test new Aqua-Yield technology. The company is currently testing an AI solution that scans a crop with cameras, drones, and other means to tell the irrigation system when to water correctly.
“I look at the possibilities of what this does for a farm supervisor or a manager and I think it will lead to a drastic reduction in labor costs and in electricity use and in water being utilized because we can be more proficient,” Bell says.
In order to save water, prevent soil erosion, feed the world, etc., [retailers need to] look at the overall system, and not just component pricing. We truly need to look at each application — and do the right thing — in order to come out ahead in the end.
“For the ag retailer, this is [a solution] they'll be able to offer to their growers in the near future,” Bell continues. “All ag retailers have to be armed with the best technology that will help the farmers they serve grow the best crops that they can. So, they need to partner hand-in-hand with these startups that are coming up with these solutions. For product manufacturers, they need to be able to position their products and technologies to be in line with the headwinds and tailwind opportunities that come from these riveting technologies that are going to be available for irrigation management.”
Manufacturers work to continually provide more advanced solutions. Those updates are often driven by customers’ problems.
“It’s important to look to the end user and solving the needs at the field level,” says Nelson Irrigation’s Wenzel. “In order to save water, prevent soil erosion, feed the world, etc., [retailers need to] look at the overall system, and not just component pricing. We truly need to look at each application — and do the right thing — in order to come out ahead in the end.”
Another change that is impacting technology in virtually every industry is artificial intelligence, or AI. Ag equipment, including irrigation tools, are right in the middle of these developments.
“Fundamentally, there are two types of 'providers' when it comes to AI,” FloraPulse’s Santiago says. “First, there are the companies that make the hardware that (1) measure and (2) control irrigation. Second, there are the companies that develop AI models and decision support systems. Both companies are needed. AI requires accurate data to make predictions and reliable control systems to implement these decisions. Thus, hardware manufacturers need to keep making better, cheaper hardware that will enable AI. And AI companies need to partner with hardware companies to get the best quality data and control systems. As both parties work together, the cost of solutions will come down, and their usefulness will increase, paving the way for mass adoption.”
“Ag retail will move slowly, as it should,” Cquesta’s Ott says. Once something is proven to work and shows a reliable ROI, then it is quickly adopted by ag retail.”
Ott expects the adoption curve to look similar to drone application.
Areas where irrigation is needed are steadily losing water supply — the Ogallala Aquifer is the best example — so it will work until it doesn't.
“It was low for years, and now that people can make money doing it, about 50% of ag retailers plan to use drones for application. Of course, I'm biased here because I founded Rantizo and heard for years that drones could never be big or cheap enough to help. Tech and regulatory improvements showed that drones can be very effective in many situations.”
While adoption might not play out as quickly as manufacturers like, local, state, or federal agencies might force changes.
“Areas where irrigation is needed are steadily losing water supply — the Ogallala Aquifer is the best example — so it will work until it doesn't,” Ott says.
“The fertigation tech created by Sentinel is really appealing. Many states are increasing water conservation regulation and policy. We see the Colorado River Basin crises continuing and issues like that spreading. So, it will become more and more critical for farmers to have many tools to use to reduce water usage and keep yields high. Variable Rate Irrigation and other technologies are critical to help farmers make the most of the water they have available to them.”
