The Texas Alliance for Water Conservation is hosting its 7th Annual Water College from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 20 and 21. Connecting today's producers and crop consultants with the latest in irrigation technology and research is the focus of the free Zoom event.

"While we will greatly miss our usual in-person interaction, we hope this format will allow more attendees to participate that may not be able to travel to Lubbock," said TAWC Project Director Rick Kellison.

The program brings together area producers, consultants and agriculture industry leaders in an effort to present the latest in water management technologies and practices, upcoming weather patterns, and industry news.

Among the scheduled program highlights are:

Wednesday - January 20, 2021
• 9:30 a.m. - Prescription Irrigation and Seeding Rates for Cotton in a Dry Year (2020); Bob Glodt, President of AgriSearch ; and Glenn Schur, TAWC Cooperating Producer
• 10:00 a.m. - Update from Texas Water Development Board; Brooke Paup, Texas Water Development Board Director
• 10:20 a.m. - Drought Tolerance in Corn Genetics; Jake Becker, Pioneer Seed Field Agronomist
• 10:40 a.m. - Soil Health, Best Management Strategies for Irrigating Corn, and Variable Rate Irrigation; Jeff Miller, Owner of ForeFront Agronomy
• 11:00 a.m. - COVID-19 and Agriculture: What Happened and Where Are We Going?; Darren Hudson, Texas Tech Combest Endowed Chair of Agricultural Competitiveness,

Thursday - January 21, 2021
• 9:30 a.m. - Cover Crop Benefits in Cattle Grazing - Part 1; Katie Lewis, Texas Tech Associate Professor of Soil Fertility/Joint appointment - Texas A&M AgriLife Research
• 9:45 a.m. - Cover Crop Benefits in Cattle Grazing - Part 2; Paul De Laune, Professor of Environmental Soil Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Vernon
• 10:00 a.m. - Weather: What can we expect in 2021?; Brian Bledsoe, Chief Meteorologist Colorado Springs & President of BrianBledsoeWx
• 10:20 a.m. - Adding Sustainable Cattle Production to Your Rotation; Ben Holland, Director of Research and Operations Analysis at Cactus Feeders
• 10:40 a.m. - Cotton Inc. Trust Protocol Overview; TBA
• 11:00 a.m. - 2021, What Can Agriculture Look Forward To?; Tom Sell, Co-Founder & Manager of Combest, Sell & Associates

TAWC program officials note that presentations will be recorded for later viewing on TAWC's YouTube channel, in addition to being played on KFLP 900AM and KDHN 1470AM radio.

Based at Texas Tech and funded by a grant from the Texas Water Development Board, TAWC is a partnership of producers, technology firms, universities and government agencies working to extend the life of the largest subterranean aquifer in the United States. Stretching from the Texas panhandle in the south to the northern boundary of Nebraska, the Ogallala Aquifer lies beneath one of the most important agricultural regions in the United States.

The project uses on-farm demonstrations of cropping and livestock systems to compare the production practices, technologies, and systems that can maintain individual farm profitability while improving water use efficiency with a goal of extending the life of the Ogallala Aquifer while maintaining the viability of local farms and communities.

All production-related decisions are made by the more than 20 producers involved in the project. The project field sites involve more than 6,000 acres in Castro, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Hale, Lamb, Lubbock, Parmer and Swisher counties. These sites represent the range of agricultural practices including monoculture cropping systems; crop rotations; no-till, limited-till and conventional tillage practices; land application of manure; and fully integrated crop and livestock systems.

CONTACT: Samantha Borgstedt, Communications Director, Texas Alliance for Water Conservation Project, Texas Tech University at (806) 789-4177 or samantha.borgstedt@ttu.edu

0108NM21 / Editor's Note: To join TAWC Join Zoom Meeting you will need Meeting ID: 955 9998 6796 and Passcode: F7ciGE