Progress 09/30/22 to 09/29/24
Outputs
Target Audience:During this year of the project, the goal was to promote the webtool to the target audience, which includes furrow irrigators in Louisiana and nearby states. This audience was reached through LSU AgCenter newsletter updates, press releases, interviews, presentations at production meetings, and social media. Changes/Problems:The development and release of the webtool was delayed by the IT department from January 2023 until September 2023, resulting in the inability to evaluate the webtool's functionality and results during the initial 1 year project period of the grant. This delay resulted in a no-cost extension until September 29,2024. During this additional year of the project, the team continued to participate in quarterly update meetings with National Program Leadersand expandedopportunities for education and outreach throughout 2024. Due to this delay, the on-farm evaluation of the webtool predictions compared to soil moisture data was delayed until2024. Sensors are currently in the process of being removed from fields before anticipated harvest dates, thus this data hasn't been fully processed before the end of the grant. However, this evaluation and publishing of the results will continue this winter in anticipation of aspring 2025 release. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has given the opportunity to provide professional development in the area of agricultural water management and drought to other faculty, extension agents, USGS employees, NRCS personnel, and mentor farmers throughout Louisiana and the mid-South. There were over 30 extension-based activities that focused on the webtool across the project period, whichled toward broader dissemination beyond these direct interactions.This project was featured in the only Agricultural Water Management Workshop held for the public in Louisiana and continues to be a highly requested topic for trainings. Additionally, we were able to reach an underserved population by presenting about the project at the Model Farm Field Day co-hosted by the National Black Growers Council and Morehouse Parish Black Farmers Association, which was initially considered beyond the expected reach of the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to the numerous presentations, media events, and extension outreach already described, results of the project are being disseminated through the development of peer-reviewed publications. Results from the community engagement aspect of the project was published in Louisiana Agriculture Magazine as part of the Spring 2024 issue and is in the process of being expanded for the Journal of Extension (or similar peer-reviewed extension outlet). Also, a peer-reviewed publication on the development and validation of the DIRT webtool is currently in draft and waiting for the final validation data to be collected and processed before submission to the Applied Engineering in Agriculture Journal. Additionally, the project team is working on a peer-reviewed publication that evaluatesevapotranspiration calculation options for Louisiana in effort to sustain the data requirements of the webtool into the future. As these peer-reviewed products become available to the scientific community, extension articles that summarize the information will be generated and released on the LSU AgCenter website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first year of the project, the webtool (Objective 1) was developed and released to the public, just after the 2023 irrigation season ended. This tool reflected the requests of the advisory board, which included a simplistic design and multiple options for visualizing the data. Since the tool could not be tested during the 2023 irrigation season, seven soil moisture sensors were installed in fields farmed by seven different producers during the 2024 irrigation season to assess the prediction abilities of the product. While thisvalidation period is still on-going, initial results indicate good agreement between the webtool estimations and on-site soil moisture estimations. This webtool received the 2024 ASABE Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award in the category of Design or Decision Tools. The identification and interactions between the scientific community and the project team occurred primarily in 2023 with a series of webinars highlighting topics related to the project (Objective 2). While project collaboration was minimal outside of these meetings, the networking opportunity established positive relationships between previously unacquainted scientists. The project team has been able to leverage these relationships as part of new and developing opportunities that build upondrought mitigation strategies in agriculture. The project team utilized the advisory board to engage in the community design approach (Objective 3) as mentioned in Objective 1. In addition to providing feedback and discussion around the design and implementation of the webtool, advisory group members agreed to host soil moisture sensors for on-site validation for the 2024 crop season. Survey responses from the advisory process indicated that the board members increased their awareness of the LSU AgCenter's irrigation extension resources. Additionally, the aggressive outreach campaign was used to estimate the anticipated benefits of the webtool through a post-pilot survey instrument. Respondents indicated that they expected the webtool the help save water and money (92%), increase crop yields(92%), reduce over-pumping of wells (84%), and provide a greater return on investment (88%).
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Dec. 8, 2023). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Scheduling Irrigation Using DIRT,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Fall Technical Meeting, LA Section ASABE, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jan. 9, 2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Digging through DIRT: Drought Irrigation Response Tool Can Help Schedule Irrigation,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jan. 31, 2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Digging through DIRT: A New Irrigation Scheduling Tool for Furrow Irrigation,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ National Conservation Systems Conference, Jonesboro, AR
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Feb. 6, 2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT),ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Louisiana Division, American Society of Sugarcane Technologists Meeting, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jul. 11, 2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT),ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Featured Training Topic, Northeast Region ANR Agent Meeting, Winnsboro, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Dec. 7, 2023). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT),ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Catahoula/Concordia Crop Production Meeting, Vidalia, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Mar. 7, 2023). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT),ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Caddo Parish Crop Production Meeting, Vidalia, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jun. 21, 2024). "Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT)," Northwest Region Agricultural Water Management Workshop, Bossier City, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., Rohli, R., Friedland, C., Mithila, S., Rahim, Md A. (2023). Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT): A Manual. LSU AgCenter Publication 3893.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Franks, M., S. L. D. Conger, C. Friedland, R. Rohli, and A. M. Divine. (2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿A Community-Engagement Approach to Managing Agricultural Drought,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Dallas, TX
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., M. Franks, C. Friedland, and R. Rohli. (2023). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Developing DIRT: Using Community Engagement as a Drought Mitigation Strategy,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Extension Disaster Education Network, Savannah, GA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jul. 18, 2024). ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ¿Irrigation Update,ÿ¢ÿ¿ÿ Rolling Field Tour, Interagency Training, Beauregard Parish, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (2024). Kicking Around DIRT and Other Irrigation Recommendations. Louisiana Crops Newsletter, February Issue. Available at: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1707852199265#title3
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Franks, M., S. L. D. Conger, C. Friedland, R. Rohli, A. Divine, A. Garcia, S. Mithila, and A. Rahim. A Community-Engagement Approach to Managing Drought: The Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT), Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Spring 2024 Issue. Available at: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1716235240332
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. (Jul. 26, 2024). "Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT)," Model Farm Field Day, National Black Growers Council, Bastrop, LA.
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Progress 09/30/22 to 09/29/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Over the last year, we have directly interacted with theAdvisory Board for irrigation extension programming that has guided the development of the webtool. The board consists of irrigating producers, irrigation professionals, and farm employees that manage irrigation strategies for corporate entities. Interactions with this board occurred through email, virtual meetings, and in-person meetings held around the state. Members were identified prior to the commencement of the project by requesting recommendations from extension agents located in parishes with irrigated commodities. This was done in effortto obtain a diverse group that have not worked with thisirrigation extension program previously. While identified previously, the board was activatedthe first time for this project. Other interested parties were informed through normal media channels including AgCenter newsletter updates, press releases, and interviews. Changes/Problems:The biggest challenge experienced during this reporting period was in the delay in the webtool release. The LSU AgCenter IT responded to a critical security compromise to our systems shortly before our scheduled release that severely delayed development. Concurrently, the LSU AgCenter has gone through significant administrative changes resulting in the need for developing more internal technological resources related to extension reporting, evaluation, and promotion that have overwhelmed our development team. This is on top of the multiple webtools my colleagues have delayed so we may prioritize this project. Thus, the IT team could not meet the timeline. My second biggest challenge is related to distributing the participant support costs. The farmers on the advisory board have been reluctant to accept direct payments, mostly because of the paperwork involved for additional income. While there may be avenues for working through this process, AgCenter accounting services is unfamiliar with this concept and does not know how to support this process. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through this opportunity, we have been able to assist in training opportunities for a post-doctoral, graduate, and two undergraduate students over the last year. In addition to further developing their research skills on a new and different project, these students gained exposure to the extension aspects to applied research, time management requirements, and the community needs associated with a rapid response. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Due to the delay in the webtool release, communications have been directed toward keeping the advisory board members informed about the progress. Some communications occurred with the agricultural community through the LSU AgCenter's Monthly Crops Newsletter, which also allowed us to accept contact information so that we could direct resources proactively once they became available. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Now that the webtool has been released to the public, we will begin to train extension agents on it's functionality and use; through this process, we will create training kits that minimally include the training materials used to educate them so that they can educate their own clientele using the traditional train-the-trainer model. It is anticipated that these trainings will occur over the winter months in preparation for the 2024 crop season. Also, now that the webtool has been released, our team will evaluate weather data sources available for calculating evapotranspiration. This will be critical for longevity of the webtool once funding will no longer be available to support the purchase of the weather data API. In tandem, we will develop a publication on the development and performance of DIRT from the 2023 season. While the tool was not publicly available, we can use the released version to estimate what would have been suggested as an irrigation schedule and compare to the soil moisture sensor data collected from production fields to accomplish this goal.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Irrigation is a relatively new strategy for Louisiana crop production systems, resulting in minimal infrastructure investments that are known to be less efficient and ultimately detrimental to groundwater sustainability. Agricultural drought, which is occurring more frequently due to climate change, has exacerbated this issue. Through a community-led engagement process, this project provides irrigation scheduling resources and extension support to Louisiana farmers who utilize furrow irrigation methods. During this time period, the Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT) was created and released in September 2023, which satisfies the first objective. Overall feedback on the irrigation web tool from advisory members states that they are looking forward to the application's development and plan to adopt, utilize, and test the irrigation resources and technologies being developed throughout the project (100%). Advisory members stated that "this is a very worthwhile project," and were pleased that the "AgCenter is investing in irrigation research to improve agriculture in Louisiana." Several stakeholders wrote that they would "absolutely use [the webtool]," as it is a "tool to improve efficiently." Stakeholders also showed their support for marketing and piloting the application by "working directly with a farming group to test," as it will be "helpful to customers and my employees." The second objective included discussions with the scientific community concerning rapid response to agricultural resiliency, which occurred through a series of six virtual meetings held monthly from March-August 2023. While the invited scientists exceeded 60, these meetings condensed into a core group of very interested scientists who were able to network with each other and support on-going initiatives across state lines. The final objective, which directly relates to the community engagement process, was accomplished through feedback collected from advisory board meetings. After two meetings and without webtool availability, evaluation results demonstrate that stakeholders (n=11) became significantly more aware of irrigation resources (60% to 86%) and technologies (58% to 82%) provided by the LSU AgCenter. They also rated the LSU AgCenter more favorably as a credible resource for irrigation information (87% to 96%), and a collaborative partner (83% to 90%), and felt that the AgCenter involved them in decisions that impact their community (78% to 86%). Additionally, stakeholders stated that the AgCenter had a positive impact on them (87% to 91%) and valued their expertise (83% to 86%). Furthermore, stakeholders also stated that they would utilize AgCenter resources (76% to 80%) and personnel (78% to 82%) when making decisions regarding irrigation. Lastly, stakeholders that participated in multiple sessions continued to rate the AgCenter more favorably as a credible resource (96% to 100%) and collaborative partner (90% to 100%) and felt more valued as a community expert (86% to 90%). These results further demonstrate that a community-driven approach to project development creates stronger partnerships with stakeholders and the community.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. Irrigation Scheduling Tool Delayed Through Memorial Day Weekend. Louisiana Crops Newsletter, May Issue. Available at: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1684809933945#title4
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., A. Divine, C. Friedland, and R. Rohli. Soon to Be Released: Irrigation Scheduling Webtool. Louisiana Crops Newsletter, March Issue. Available at: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1678369113225#title6
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
LSU AgCenter News Release. AgCenter-led team receives grant to help farmers irrigate efficiently, LSU AgCenter, media release, November 10, 2022. Contributor. https://lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1668017514780
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
National Cotton Council. Cotton Newsline: December 14, 2022, Audio media release. Contributor. https://www.cotton.org/news/av/newsline221214.cfm
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
National Cotton Council. New Irrigation Decision-Making App Will Help Louisiana Farmers Manage Water Use During Drought, Video media release. Contributor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v92CXvShv0
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., C. Friedland, and R. Rohli. 2023. Developing a Decision Support Webtool for Agricultural Drought in Louisiana, ASABE Annual International Meeting, Omaha, NE.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. 2023. "Informing future irrigation strategies using drought status, hydrological conditions, and historical rainfall patterns," 26th Annual Conservation Systems Conference, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., M. Franks, C. Friedland, and R. Rohli. 2023. Developing DIRT: Using Community Engagement as a Drought Mitigation Strategy, Extension Disaster Education Network, Savannah, GA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Franks, M., S. L. D. Conger, C. Friedland, R. Rohli, and A. M. Divine. 2023. A Community-Engagement Approach to Managing Agricultural Drought, 14th Annual Louisiana Water Conference, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Franks, M., S. L. D. Conger, C. Friedland, R. Rohli, and A. M. Divine. 2023. A Community-Engagement Approach to Managing Agricultural Drought, Louisiana County Agricultural Agents Association, Gonzales, LA
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Jain USA. Ditching the Guesswork: How Online Irrigation Scheduling Apps Can Improve Crop Yields, National Webinar. Contributor. https://jainsusa.com/training/ditching-the-guesswork-how-online-irrigation-scheduling-apps-can-improve-crop-yields/
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., C. Friedland, R. Rohli, S. Mithila, A. Rahim, A. Garcia, M. Franks, and S. Hall. 2022. Decision support, education, and outreach for managing agricultural drought in Louisiana, LSU AgCenter Annual Conference, Baton Rouge, LA
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. 2023. Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT). Available at: www.lsuagcenter.com/DIRT
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D., Rohli, R., Friedland, C., Mithila, S., Rahim, Md A. 2023. Drought Irrigation Response Tool (DIRT): A Manual. LSU AgCenter Publication, In press.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Conger, S. L. D. 2023. "ITS HERE! Drought Irrigation Response Tool Just Released," Louisiana Crops Newsletter, September Issue. Available at: https://www.lsuagcenter.com/articles/page1695318890376
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