The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit organization established by the 2014 Farm Bill, has awarded a $5 million grant to launch the Irrigation Innovation Consortium.

The purpose of the consortium is to “accelerate the development and adoption of water and energy efficient irrigation technologies and practices through public-private partnerships.” The $5 million FFAR grant was matched by the ten founding members participants for a total initial investment of $10 million to support research and collaboration costs over five years.

The initial founding members of the Consortium are:

California State University, Fresno
Colorado State University
Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI)
Irrigation Association (IA)
Jain Irrigation
Kansas State Research and Extension, Kansas State University
Lindsay Corporation
Northern Water
Rubicon Water
Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Plans for the consortium began in April 2017 at a FFAR-hosted convening event held at the Daugherty Water for Food Institute Global Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. “We are excited to be a leading partner on this important endeavor,” said Peter McCornick, executive director of DWFI. “Our institute’s experience in water management practices and remote sensing technology, as well as connections to 100 faculty fellows within the University of Nebraska system, will play a vital role in the project.”

Initial research priorities include water and energy efficiency, remote sensing and big data applications for improving water management, irrigation technology acceleration and technology transfer.