Adapting Agriculture to a Drier Future from the Great Plains to the Central Valley

Authors: SILBER COATS, NOAH - New Mexico State University; KREMEN, AMY - Colorad0 State University; FERNALD, ALEXANDER (SAM) - New Mexico State University; MCEVOY, JAMIE - Montana State University; Elias, Emile

Submitted to: Universities Council on Water Resources
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/13/2023
Publication Date: 6/15/2023
Citation: Silber Coats, N., Kremen, A., Fernald, A., McEvoy, J., Elias, E.H. 2023. Adapting Agriculture to a Drier Future from the Great Plains to the Central Valley. Universities Council on Water Resources. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Building on a series of paper sessions presenting recent research on the impacts of dwindling water resources on agriculture across the western U.S. and ways to manage this reality, this panel convenes experts from around the region to discuss the following questions: How have reduced water supplies and drought impacted producers in the areas where the panelists work? Which tools or strategies - whether technological or institutional - have shown positive results in terms of building resilience to a hotter, drier future for agriculture in the western U.S.? What are the barriers to implementing these solutions more widely? What opportunities exist to collaborate between the many ongoing research and outreach efforts related to water scarcity across the region? Participants are involved in research and outreach programs covering a variety of topics and locations, from managed aquifer recharge and desalination in groundwater-dependent irrigated agricultural systems in California’s Central Valley to training irrigators on advanced water management techniques in the Great Plains. Panelists include Emile Elias (USDA SW Climate Hub), Sam Fernald (New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute), Jamie McEvoy (Montana State University), and Amy Kremen (Colorado State University Irrigation Innovation Consortium).