Left: Brent Mecham, CID, CLWM, CLIA, CIC, CAIS, and Charles Hillyer, PhD, survey the future site of the Irrigation Technology Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Below: Panographic view of the future site of the Irrigation Technology Center in Fort Collins, Colorado
Photos credit: Stephen W. Smith
“THE IRRIGATION INNOVATION CONSORTIUM IS ALL ABOUT THE FARMER IN THE UNITED STATES AND ELSEWHERE.”
IRRIGATION INNOVATION CONSORTIUM
Founding members
California State University, Fresno
Colorado State University Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska
Irrigation Association Jain Irrigation Kansas State Research and Extension, Kansas State University
Lindsay Corporation Northern Water Rubicon Water Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Adoptable & affordable
Plans for the IIC began during an initial convening event in April 2017. Those participating in that discussion focused on the need to not simply create new technology for the sake of creating technology, but to focus on developing and researching innovations that are truly beneficial and affordable to growers and end users. Having growers’ input in the process is an important tenet that has carried through since this initial planning.
Stephen W. Smith, PhD, FASIC, CAIS, CLIA, executive director of the IIC, said that the focus of the Consortium is research, demonstration and training. “An important goal is to have suitable technology transfer ideals so that growers are more likely than in the past to hear about and implement affordable technology that can result in reduced water delivery, increased yields and/or increased product quality,” Smith said. “The Irrigation Innovation Consortium is all about the farmer in the United States and elsewhere.”
Irrigation Technology Center
Current plans include a new Irrigation Technology Center that will be located on an irrigation farm in Fort Collins, Colorado. The farm was provided to the IIC by the Colorado State University Research Foundation.
Smith hopes to see this collaboration between universities and industry gain traction over the next few years as a sustainable entity with a geographic breadth to offer irrigation technology innovations for agriculture as well as landscapes.
Organizations interested in joining the Consortium are invited to contact Smith at
swsmith@buenavidafarm.com.
Anne Blankenbiller is the Irrigation Today editor-in-chief and the Irrigation Association’s senior communications manager.
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