DWFI Podcast 49 – Irrigation as a Service: A New Paradigm
In our first episode of 2026, host Frances Hayes discusses a unique approach to supporting access to irrigation for smallholder farmers with Erin Anders, Senior Program Manager at the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.
Farmers of all sizes in all parts of the world need access to water, inputs and financing to grow food. Irrigation as a Service (IaaS) is an emerging business model to expand irrigation access, especially to smallholder farmers, and ultimately grow more food.
Irrigation as a Service (IaaS) has a broad definition but generally refers to the concept of third-party providers of irrigation in which the farmers do not own or maintain the equipment. The companies that arise under this business model can look very different and employ a variety of methods. However, they all unlock vital irrigation access to millions of smallholder farmers globally without the burden of high upfront costs.
Erin and her team have been working closely with and supporting entrepreneurs across the globe who are pioneering and providing this essential irrigation as a service, including those featured in the DWFI’s recent series on IaaS. In this episode, she gives an insider’s look at the challenges and potential of this growing movement.
DWFI podcast episode 49 27:08The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska was founded with the mission to have a lasting and significant impact on achieving more food security with less pressure on scarce water resources by conducting scientific and policy research, using the research results to inform policy makers, and sharing knowledge through education and communication.
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Seizing Opportunities for U.S. Cotton
The purpose of the National Cotton Council is to increase profitability for the industry, and it is especially important when the market is down and growers are struggling.
Marjory Walker, NCC VP Operations and Communications, presented some of the council’s recent initiatives at this week’s 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences. “One of the most innovative, I think, is Buying America Cotton Act, or BACA,” said Walker. “It has been introduced in the Senate. It was introduced in the House (where we) are currently looking for coalition letters for that, but the legislation rewards those who use U.S. cotton in their products…It’s a tax incentive for location and then for origin.”
Walker also discussed the “Plant not Plastic” campaign and the involvement of the Trump administration’s MAHA commission on the dangers of microfibers and microplastics from textiles. “What we didn’t know was the textiles from inhalation, the microfibers that they shed just from a simple hug, is very detrimental. It’s present in your brain, your lungs, your heart. So the MAHA Commission was so interested in that, they ended up putting it in their commission report to dedicate research dollars to that, which I thought was outstanding.”
Learn more in Walker’s interview and presentation to the conference.
Seizing Opportunities for U.S. Cotton – Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council
Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council - presentation 14:11
Marjory Walker, NCC VP Operations and Communications, interview
Marjory Walker, National Cotton Council - interview 4:34
Precision Ag News 1/9
Water for Food Institute Names New Executive Director
Incoming DWFI Director Joe Sanders
Joe Sanders will step in to the role just vacated by the retirement of Peter McCornick at the end of 2025, after nearly a decade of dedicated service to the institute. Sanders will officially assume the executive director position on Feb. 1, 2026, and brings more than 27 years of experience as an international development leader, designing and managing large-scale programs across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Throughout his career, Sanders has led eight major initiatives totaling over $330 million, with a focus on agricultural market systems, food security, climate resilience, irrigation, youth livelihoods and governance.
DWFI is one of three University of Nebraska (NU) institutes in which talented experts across all four campuses come together to find innovative solutions to challenges facing our state, nation and world. DWFI addresses the complex challenges of water and food security, and its work directly supports the university’s commitment to local impact with global reach.
As DWFI executive director, Sanders will provide leadership, strategic direction and oversight for the institute’s three primary missions of research, education, and policy, while continuing to build DWFI as a global leader and partner in the international water and food communities.
Cotton Consultants Conference Covers the Latest
From what’s new in crop protection technology from the major players, to what’s new that could impact this growing season, the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference covered the waterfront on the first day Wednesday.
Conference coordinator Hank Jones was pleased to see a good crowd. “We had a very good turnout from around the belt,” said Jones. “I know there’s people here from Georgia, consultants from Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, I’m from Louisiana, of course, Texas and other states … we had a room full in the big hall, so that was good to see.”
Emerging topics included the Cotton Jassid pest and Syngenta’s new insecticide Vertento®, as well as research into a new phenomenon being seen.
“One very exciting thing that we were able to do this year was invite a grad student from the University of Tennessee, Ms. Gabriella Marcotti, to present on her research that is funded by the Cotton Foundation, which is an entity of the National Cotton Council about the aborted terminal phenomenon that we’re seeing in various regions of the Cotton Belt,” said Jones.
Attendees also got updates from USDA and the National Cotton Council, as well as a Meteorological Update with Eric Snodgrass from Nutrien.
The 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences continue through tomorrow with technical conferences on a variety of topics including agronomy and soil, economics and marketing, ginning, sustainability, weed science, and much more.
Hank Jones, Consultants Conference interview 7:17Syngenta Spotlights New Insecticide at Cotton Conferences
Syngenta’s PLINAZOLIN® technology just received registration from the Environmental Protection Agency last month and is now available for use, subject to state approvals, powering five separate insecticide products including Vertento® for cotton.
Tripp Walker, Syngenta agronomic service rep, gave a presentation at the Beltwide Cotton Consultants Conference Wednesday in San Antonio on the new foliar-applied insecticide for cotton, peanuts and onions to treat insect pests including plant bugs, thrips and mites.
“So what we’re seeing, and it’s been tested across many crops in many different locations, is we see an extended residual activity out of this product,” said Walker. “Of course, we’ve already mentioned this several times, broad-spectrum control, including mites along with other insect pests. It’s very crop safe, we don’t see any kind of crop response. It’s very UV stable, it’s very rain fast.”
Listen to Walker’s presentation to learn more about what Vertento® has to offer cotton growers.
Tripp Walker, Syngenta - presentation 20:37
NewLife Bio Announces Approval for Remediate™
NewLife Biosciences announces the approval of an important microbial patent for soil and crop health for uses in agriculture.
This patent will allow NewLife Bio to produce and provide Remediate™ products to help significantly accelerate the breakdown of pesticide residues. Each Remediate™ product, available through a customized and stabilized formula, is an optimized consortium of microbes designed to break down residues of specific pesticides. The patent provides for a broad base of microbes and pesticides with which Remediate™ can be used. With these product lines, NewLife Bio can provide tailored and specific biological consortia to break down different pesticide residues much more efficiently and quickly in both soil or foliar applications.
By identifying and blending specific microbes for specific tasks, NewLife Bio can offer various Remediate™ products to address either individual pesticide residues, or multiple groups of target residues, all within specific Remediate Products. Most importantly, NewLife’s stabilization technology will allow for pre-mixes or tank mix options for extreme flexibility of application windows for this technology.
Remediate will become one of the first biological products in this important and expanding category of soil health. Remediate is expected to help retailers, distribution and manufacturers with one of the many challenges they face by ensuring they have the tools to help deliver optimized soil health for their customers by reducing effects of pesticides that could impact biological function and root development.
“Remediate™ will be available in 2026 as we plan our paths to market and expand our R&D through the year for improved customization,” says Steve Stansell, CEO of NewLife Biosciences. “We believe Remediate™ will be a great tool to help growers and the supply chain around the globe succeed in this category.”
Overview of New Invasive Pest – Cotton Jassid
A brand new invasive pest is on the scene for cotton growers in the Southeast.
University of Georga Extension Entomologist Phillip Roberts presented the latest information on the Cotton Jassid during the Cotton Consultants Conference yesterday in San Antonio on the first day of the 2026 Beltwide Cotton Conferences.
“So this is an invasive insect, native to India,” said Roberts. “It was discovered in this hemisphere in Puerto Rico in 2023. The following year, in 2024, it was detected in Florida. So the first time in the U.S. was 2024. We first detected the insect in Georgia on July 9th on cotton. It was found in cotton in Florida and South Carolina about that same time. But just within a matter of weeks, the insect had really spread across the southern part of Georgia. By September, the insect was present and every cotton producing county in our state has ran up the eastern seaboard to the Virginia line and west to Mississippi and even some areas of Texas. So it expanded very, very quickly.”
Roberts was joined by other UGA extension agents on a panel to discuss their experiences with the invasive pest. Listen below to learn more.
Cotton Jassid – a New Invasive Pest in the Southeast – Interview with Phillip Roberts, UGA extension entomologist
Phillip Roberts, UGA extension entomologist, interview 10:44
Cotton Jassid panel – UGA Extension – Phillip Roberts, Will Brown, Jacob Kalina, Jeremy Kichler
UGA extension agents Jassid panel 20:10
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