Irrigation Training Program For Texas Agricultural Producers

The Irrigation Training Program, funded by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) through an Agricultural Water Conservation Grant, began in 2006. Administered by the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB), the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), Texas AgriLife Extension Service (Extension) and Texas AgriLife Research (Research) worked together to build a multi-disciplinary Irrigation Training Program (ITP) that included development of a core manual and training conferences that were designed to meet regional needs. The three year project was divided into four main tasks with separate objectives and deliverables. Under Task 1, the TSSWCB, SWCDs and USDA-NRCS supported the development and implementation of the Irrigation Training Program. Task 2 required TWRI, Extension and Research, in cooperation with the TSSWCB and USDA-NRCS to identify primary agency personnel to provide training and the key conference sites. To meet the objective of Task 3, TWRI, Extension and Research, in cooperation with the TSSWCB and USDA-NRCS developed the Irrigation Training Program manual and promoted irrigation training conferences. And finally, TWRI, Extension and Research, in cooperation with the TSSWCB and USDA-NRCS implemented the Irrigation Training Program through the delivery of six irrigation conferences to meet the task 4 goals.