Mississippi State is partnering with tech giant Amazon and leading agricultural technology company Arable in helping farmers conserve water and save money.
The Mississippi Delta initiative is one of more than 30 worldwide projects Amazon has announced for its campaign to be water positive—contributing more water to the environment than the company consumes—by 2030.
Drew Gholson, a scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and irrigation specialist with the MSU Extension Service, attributes the intensifying pressure on the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, or MRVA, to increasing demand for permitted wells and irrigated acres.
“The concern is more water is being pumped out than replenished,” said Gholson, who is also an associate professor in MSU’s plant and soil sciences department. “We want to ensure this valuable resource is available for growers to maintain their yields during low rainfall or drought periods.”
Gholson and his colleagues conduct ongoing research to identify the most effective methods and tools for irrigation conservation. The university’s Master Irrigator Program, coordinated by Extension Specialist Dillon Russell, provides advanced training in irrigation and water management practices through a team of experts and extension specialists who help growers use that resource more efficiently.
The partnership with Amazon is MSU’s most recent effort to facilitate irrigation conservation on farms drawing water from the MRVA. With funding and oversight from Amazon, Arable’s advanced AI-based irrigation tools, which monitor variables such as soil moisture and weather, will be distributed to participating growers in Sharkey, Issaquena, Yazoo and Warren counties. Participants enrolled in the 10-year program will receive the tools from Arable at no cost, and training and technical support from MSU scientists who are working with Arable’s system onsite at MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.
“We are thrilled to partner with Mississippi State University to bring useful technology to growers, together with Amazon,” said Arable CEO Jim Ethington. “The experience and expertise that folks like Drew Gholson and Dillon Russell bring are essential to success in working on these critical challenges around water and irrigation optimization in the Delta.”
The Amazon-Arable team estimates these tools will reduce agricultural water usage in the MRVA by 150 million gallons per year over the anticipated 10,000 acres from participating farms—a number Gholson estimates will save growers 15-25% of their average annual water usage.
“There’s often a financial barrier to adopting new technology,” he said. “This project removes that barrier for participants, but we also want to encourage widespread adoption of this kind of technology because it has the potential to pay for itself.”
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service already ranks Mississippi No. 1 in the country for adoption of soil moisture sensors for scheduling irrigation, but this project will introduce even more growers to the benefits of using some of the most advanced tools available while conserving a valuable natural resource. In the future, Arable’s tools will be available to a wider audience through subscription and leasing programs.
“Being a land-grant university, we’ve built a connection and trust with Mississippi growers that can help Amazon and Arable achieve success with their initiative,” Gholson said.
The project is currently recruiting growers to get involved. For more information, contact [email protected].
To learn more about MAFES, visit www.mafes.msstate.edu.
