Award Winners
2021
Agriculture category — Agri Services International — Citrus Under Protective Screen Project
The CUPS project involved growing citrus under a protective screen structure in Dundee, Florida, in conjunction with precision irrigation and inputs to yield high-quality disease-free citrus while minimizing the use of water, fertilizer and pesticides. Using this relatively new method to grow citrus required researching, designing and installing a highly technical, automated irrigation and control system to monitor weather and soil conditions and deliver precise amounts of water and nutrients to every tree. The partners in this project include Agri Services International, Dundee Citrus Growers Association and Precision Citrus LLC.
2020
Agriculture category — USDA Agriculture Research Service — Sensor-Based VRI SCADA Management Project
Through partnerships, this project utilized the patented Irrigation Scheduling Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system and sensing systems to provide a decision support system that could produce the time varying prescription maps needed by variable rate irrigation center pivot control panels. The partners in this project include the USDA-ARS Soil and Water Management Research Unit in Bushland, Texas (project lead); Beltsville, Texas ARS team; Acclima Inc.; Dynamax Inc.; and Valley Irrigation.
2019
Agriculture category — Lindsay Corporation — Riverview LLP Project
Located near Willcox, Arizona, Riverview LLP’s Coronado Farms operates 196 center pivots over more than 24,000 acres of irrigated farmland. After identifying a primary challenge to ensure the farm’s long-term sustainability through water conservation, Riverview LLP partnered with Lindsay to construct a plan to meet this challenge. The partners in this project included Riverview LLP, a Minnesota-based beef, dairy and crop-production partnership; Lindsay Corporation; Lindsay dealer Whitewater Irrigation; Lindsay’s water engineering division IRZ Engineering Consultants; and Watertronics.
2018
Landscape category — Conserva Irrigation — Target Corporation Sustainability Project
Beginning in 2016, the Target Corporation, headed up by the Target sustainability and outdoor services teams, embarked on a pilot program to test if meaningful water savings could be achieved by unbundling the irrigation services from the overall outdoor commercial maintenance package and placing a “common sense” approach to the irrigated Target properties. After four stages, the project includes more than 320 stores across the United States.
On April 11, 2018, Target announced that more than 36 million gallons of water was saved as a result of this project.
Agriculture category — Netafim and Gallo Vineyards, Inc. Variable Rate Drip Irrigation Project
Beginning in 2012, Gallo embarked on an initiative to address spatial variability through irrigation system design, data mining and response to data. The resulting concept called variable rate drip irrigation has led to significant improvements in overall production control and reduction in variability.
Since inception, the project has resulted in yields between 10 and 20 percent versus grower standard in the trial period of 2013 through 2015, and water-use efficiency increased 15 to 20 percent. Other partners involved in the project include Bennett and Bennett Irrigation and IBM.
2017
Landscape category — Revitalization of the National Mall
The revitalization included the installation of a new irrigation system that uses 1 million gallons of underground stormwater storage for the eight center tree panels and edge irrigation for the bordering tree panels on both sides of the National Mall. In addition, the project included installation of new curbing, structural soils and a new drainage system.
This project creatively utilized intuitive design, efficient products and industry leading technology. It was created to generate a healthy and water-efficient landscape to be enjoyed by the millions of people who visit this site every year.
IA participant companies that contributed to the success of this project included Irrigation Consulting Inc., Rain Bird Corp., Hunter Industries, The Toro Co., Harrington Corp., Flowtronex, Brightview, Paige Electric, Oldcastle Enclosure Solutions, VAF Filtration Systems, T. Christy Enterprises Inc., Campbell Scientific Inc., Buckner Superior, Sure-Flo Fittings, 3M, Lasco Fittings Inc., and ISCO Industries LLC.
Agriculture category — Close-Spaced LEPA Installations: Saving Water and Energy and Increasing Yields
Senninger Irrigation Inc. Vice President Mark Healy worked with Leon New from Texas A&M in the 1980s to develop the first low energy precision applicator. Healy has now been working with manufacturers, dealers and growers over the past several years to develop bubbler inserts and bubbler pads to meet specific needs for those LEPA applicators to be used with close drop spacing.
Employing close-spaced LEPA applicators low to the ground saves water and energy by applying the water needed in fewer pivot passes. These systems achieve a more uniform root zone coverage, increase yield using less water, help leach salts and avoid wetting crop canopy.
The collaboration of manufacturers, irrigation dealers and growers included Rick Grimes, owner of Southwest Irrigation in Casa Grande, Arizona; Rod Stillwell, with American Irrigation in Garden City, Kansas; John Maurer, manager of Triple D Ranch in Dyer, Nevada; and Bob Holloway, grower in northwest Kansas.