In early April, over 200 people gathered in Garden City to examine some of the concerns about the Ogallala Aquifer, a source of groundwater that underlies some 112 million acres in parts of eight states, including Kansas. The Ogallala supports around 30 percent of all U.S. crop and livestock production – and that translates to an estimated 35-billion dollars in agricultural products every year. Dan Devlin is the Director of the Kansas Water Research Institute at Kansas State University.

Dan Devlin Audio

Devlin says if that happens, the landscape and the farming practices in Western Kansas will change significantly.

Dan Devlin Audio

Devlin is part of the new Irrigation Innovation Consortium, a $5 million grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. The Consortium is a collaborative research effort to accelerate the development and adoption of efficient irrigation technologies and practices through public-private partnerships.

K-State, in partnership with four other universities and several industry partners, is matching the grant money for a total initial investment of $10 million to support irrigation technology research and collaboration costs over five years.