Browse Irrigation Stories

With winter just around the corner, now is a good time to perform some preventive maintenance on center pivot irrigation systems and to have them winterized.

An online tool developed by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is helping produce growers assess their water quality and prepare for increased testing requirements.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is part of a collaborative effort to develop a smart irrigation application for pecan farmers on smartphone devices.

During a summer when Georgia corn farmers have relied heavily on their irrigation systems working effectively, many struggled with equipment malfunctions that may have reduced crop yields. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Wes Porter believes that those problems can be avoided in the future if producers make necessary modifications after the growing season.

Water conservation is a part of the everyday work done at the University of Georgia’s Stripling Irrigation Research Park (SIRP), where scientists are constantly developing innovative sustainable agricultural practices. Georgia farmers can see some of those methods firsthand on Thursday, July 18, during the park’s annual field day beginning at 8:30 a.m.

A University of Georgia scientist’s dedication to educating Georgia farmers about the benefits of precision agriculture has garnered him international recognition. Wes Porter, a UGA Cooperative Extension precision agriculture and irrigation specialist, will receive the Educator/Researcher Award from the PrecisionAg Institute at the InfoAg Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday, July 23.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension will host two free workshops in March to show Georgia and Florida cotton and peanut growers how to increase yield and profitability through technology-driven irrigation tools.

To avoid disaster due to subfreezing winter temperatures, leaky pipes and uninvited rodents, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist Wes Porter recommends that Georgia growers inspect their irrigation systems before planting their crops this spring.

As part of an irrigation efficiency study by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, a 29-person team of social scientists, agricultural economists, climatologists, agricultural engineers and UGA Extension agents from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is studying agricultural irrigation in order to increase the water-use efficiency in row crops common to southern Georgia.