How to become your own “well whisperer,” plan for groundwater restrictions among water talks at World Ag Expo
- Editor’s note: Monserrat Solis covers Kings County water issues for SJV Water through the California Local News Fellowship initiative.
The Tulare County World Ag Expo, the largest agricultural show in the state, will offer a variety of water seminars this year showcasing the latest in irrigation system technology and even explaining how to become a “well whisperer.”
This year’s event will run from Feb. 11-13 at the International Agri-Center, 2.6 million square feet of open air and indoor exhibits and demonstrations. The expo hosts an average of 100,000 attendees from more than 70 countries each year.
With 1,200 vendors, the annual event includes a dizzying array of farm equipment, demonstrations and, of course, food.
It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, except the final day when it closes at 4 p.m.
Tickets are $20 per person.
There will be seven seminars on water this year, all held Feb. 13.
The first seminar at 9:30-9:55 a.m. will cover “Planning Around Limits: SGMA Strategies” in reference to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, California’s first groundwater law, which aims to bring aquifers into balance by 2040.
Other seminars include:
- 10 – 10:25 a.m. – Become Your Own Well Whisperer
- 10:30 – 10:55 a.m. – Variable Rate Fertigation
- 11 – 11:25 a.m. – Innovating Water Management: Advanced Irrigation and Sustainable Farming Practices
- 11:30 – 11:55 a.m. – Pros and Cons of Alfalfa on Subsurface Drip Irrigation
- Noon – 12:25 p.m. – PV Irrigations Systems for Sustainable Agriculture: Disruptive Approach
- 12:30 – 1:25 p.m. – Bridging Innovation and Investment: Advancing Precision Irrigation Through Strategic Financing
There are about half the number of water seminars this year compared to 2024, when one speaker delivered grim news that SGMA was expected to leave more than 600,000 acres in Tulare, Kings and Kern counties fallowed.
Each year, seminars change based on applications and vetting.
Megan Lausten, marketing manager for the International Agri-Center said seminar applications are carefully reviewed months before the expo is announced.
“The (seminar) committee does an excellent job sorting and reviewing submissions,” Lausten wrote in an email. “These are the most qualified of the water-focused submissions.”
The expo will have a host of other seminars on dairy, pesticides and labor law. A full list of seminars can be found online.
- Republication or broadcast of SJV Water content is allowed with our reporter’s byline, SJV Water and the following tagline:
SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley, www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org
