Agricultural Demonstration Initiatives

Demonstration Initiatives

The TWDB authorized funding for two Agricultural Water Conservation Demonstration Initiative Grants.The objective of these large-scale and long-term sites is to demonstrate and evaluate cost-effective technologies that will increase water conservation and water use efficiency. These sites also provide opportunities for local producers to share knowledge of transferable and proven conservation technologies.

Texas Alliance for Water Conservation

TAWC's mission is to conserve water for future generations by collaborating to identify those agricultural production practices and technologies that, when integrated across farms and landscapes, will reduce the depletion of groundwater while maintaining or improving agricultural production and economic opportunities.

Texas Project for Ag Water Efficiency

Now complete, a ten-year grant was awarded to the Harlingen Irrigation District in 2005, for a project titled, Maximization of On-Farm Surface Water Use Efficiency by Integration of On-Farm Application and District Delivery Systems. The demonstration initiative yielded lessons learned and insight that continues to influence water use efficiency across the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

What is an Acre-Foot?

In agriculture, water volume is often discussed in terms of Acre-Feet: one acre of land covered in water one foot deep. One Acre-Foot (or 1 AF) of water equals about 325,851 gallons or 43,560 cubic feet of water. (An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds about 630,000 gallons or almost 2 AF of water.) Download the Poster

External Resources

  • Geologic Atlas of Texas from the USGS Texas Water Science Center is an interactive tool used to learn about geology in Texas.
  • Cropscape is an interactive map of croplands and other land use categories in the United States created by the USDA- National Agricultural Statistics Service. Learn where the Corn Belt is located or in Texas most sugarcane is grown.
  • Texas Farm Bureau has developed a number of programs to educate youth on agricultural.
  • The Texas 4-H program counts more than 65,000 Texas youth as members. 4-H is about having fun, learning, exploring and discovering. From photography to computers, from building rockets to raising sheep, there's something for everyone!
  • The Junior Master Gardener Program strives to ignite a passion for learning, success, and service through a unique gardening education program. Kids can play games online and work toward becoming a certified Junior Master Gardener. Educators can find useful resources and curriculum covering plant growth and development, soils and water, ecology and environmental horticulture, insects and diseases, career exploration, and more! Stay up on youth gardening and JMG opportunities through the JMG Facebook page.
  • The National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) envisions a future in which all agricultural education students will discover their passion in life and build on that insight to chart the course for their educations, career and personal future. Find your closest FFA chapter and start “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”
  • National Agriculture in the Classroom programs aim to improve agricultural literacy - awareness, knowledge, and appreciation - among PreK-12 teachers and their students.
  • The Soil Society of America provides K-12 Soil Science Teacher Resources including lesson plans, activities, videos, and much more!
  • The USDA Education and Outreach page has information and materials for educators on topics ranging from agricultural literacy to veterinary medicine.

For more information, please contact the Agricultural Conservation staff.