1. Home
2. Conferences
3. 2020 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference

You Want Me to Do What? Water Reuse for Ag Irrigation as an Example of Introducing New Topics to Communities

Mayhah Suri

Summary

Farmers face many production risks, especially related to weather and climate. As water availability, quality, and precipitation become more variable, it is important for educators understand alterative water sources and water management strategies and share that information with farmers. CONSERVE, a Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food, and Health based at the University of Maryland is conducting a series of extension workshops on agricultural water reuse – using reclaimed, highly treated wastewater for irrigation. This is the first time water reuse is being discussed with farmers and rural communities in Maryland. Nearly 80% of workshop attendees reported that they leaned “a lot” from the workshop and almost 40% reported that they would pursue some actions to learn more about water reuse and/or adopt water reuse in their operation. Participants in this session will learn how to develop extension workshops on topics that are new to the community (including needs assessments and working with community leaders); how to talk about potentially controversial topics like climate; and learn more about innovations in water reuse in agriculture. This work was done in collaboration with Dr. Rachel Goldstein, Paul Goeringer, and Megan Gerdes of University of Maryland.

Details

---