Daugherty Water for Food Institute (DWFI) Research Program Manager Ankit Chandra and Director of Policy Nick Brozović recently published research on “Entrepreneurial trends in the Indian agricultural water ecosystem” and the larger business landscape of agricultural water use and investments. In this edition of the Water for Food podcast, we are sharing an episode of Agribusiness Matters, hosted by Venky …
2023 Water for Food Conference Preview
For the first time since 2019, global water management and food security experts will gather in person May 8-10 in Lincoln, Nebraska for the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference. The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute will host this 10th conference with the theme “Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for a Changing World,” according to executive director Peter McCornick, who says …
Onward to the AgGateway Annual Meeting
I’ll be on the agriblogging highway this weekend for the AgGateway Annual Meeting. This will be my first time attendance and I’m looking forward to seeing members I know and meeting news ones. There is a very full agenda of technical sessions and more discussions of industry standards and guidelines. The standards were discussed at the mid-year meeting by committee …
DWFI Podcast 16 – Erin Haacker – Nebraska Groundwater
Erin Haacker is a hydrogeologist and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As Erin would say, her professional path has been a winding road. She has two bachelor’s degrees – zoology from the University of Montana and geology from University College Cork in Ireland. She ventured to Michigan State University for her Ph.D., double majoring in environmental science and …
DWFI Podcast 15 – Roric Paulman, Paulman Farms
Roric Paulman is a producer and owner of Paulman Farms, located just south of Sutherland, Nebraska and in the heart of the Ogallala Aquifer, comprised of both irrigated and rain fed farmland. The farm was established and harvested its first crop in 1985 and uses the latest on-farm technology to grow more than a dozen crops. It is one of …
DWFI Podcast 14 – Jackson Stansell, Sentinel Fertigation
Jackson Stansell is CEO and founder of Sentinel Fertigation, a Lincoln, Nebraska ag startup founded in 2021 that uses drone- and satellite-collected imagery to predict when a corn crop needs fertilization — saving growers money and reducing environmental impact. Jackson has a connection to the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute. He received student support from the institute while working …
DWFI Podcast – Business Ecosystem in Rwanda
Of Rwanda’s roughly 600,000 hectares of irrigable land, only 10% is currently irrigated. With a more developed irrigation industry, farmers would be able to take advantage of three growing seasons, rather than one, enabling better food security and income. However, there are gaps in knowledge needed to advance the industry. Seeking to make these advancements accessible, staff at the Daugherty …
Daugherty Water for Food Podcast Episode 9
This episode of the Daugherty Water for Food podcast features Babak Safa, a postdoctoral research associate with the Water for Food Global Institute who specializes in agricultural meteorology, micro-meteorology and vegetation-atmosphere interaction. Safa analyzes eddy covariance flux data from installed systems to support remote sensing based model verification and water productivity estimates for several agricultural and natural ecosystems and projects …
USDA Grant Program for Producers to Use Propane
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is encouraging farmers to apply soon for a limited-time offer from USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant to receive a 25 percent grant for replacing a diesel irrigation engine with a propane-powered engine. The USDA REAP recently announced Nov. 2 as its fall deadline for the Renewable Energy systems and Energy …
Irrigation Innovation Critical to Water for Food
Innovation in irrigation is critical for the future of water for a hungry world and the irrigation industry was happy to play a role in the 2019 Water for Food Global Conference this week in Lincoln, Nebraska. “This one conference brings all the top agriculture folks together,” said Irrigation Association CEO Deborah Hamlin. “This whole conference and Daugherty Institute was …