California Irrigated Agriculture Educational Needs

Ag/H2O’s Business Focus • AG/H2O was founded to provide Agricultural Producers with

technological solutions to control the rising costs of water, energy and nutrients.

• AG/H2O business principal is to provide a water, energy and nutrient cost reduction program and/or system that have less than a 2 year Return on Investment cost.

• Training is a key component of the systems and services supplied by Ag/H20 to insure that Agricultural Producers continue to benefit from the technological solutions provided.

• Both Class room and e-Learning

Educational Needs in California Ag Irrigation and the Magnitude

Irrigated Ag in California

• Uses 80-85% of the water in California

• Uses 10% of the electrical power in California

• 75% of the electrical power is used for on farm pumps that deliver irrigation water

Irrigated Ag in California

Al l Furrow

Al l Borde r

Stri p and

Ba s i n

Combination

Spri nkl e r/Furrow

Al l Spri nkl e r

Al l

Drip/Micro

Tota l

Acre a ge

Appl e, Pe a r, Cherry, Pl um and Prune 17,821 56,111 0 30,930 85,048 189,910

Pea ch, Ne cta ri ne s and Apri cots 12,537 38,256 0 21,367 55,926 128,086

Al monds 0 211,994 0 94,704 225,211 531,909

Wa l nuts 17,858 62,346 0 32,192 88,483 200,879

Pi s ta chi o 9,687 21,079 0 14,714 35,123 80,603

Mi s c. De ci duous 4,698 13,309 0 7,858 21,631 47,496

Gra i n and Gra i n Ha y 0 681,963 0 227,321 0 909,284

Ri ce 0 379,989 0 0 0 379,989

Cotton 714,065 0 143,244 224,428 40,403 1,122,140

Sa ffl owe r and Sunfl owe r 0 173,096 0 57,699 0 230,795

Corn and Gra i n Sorghum 381,607 0 72,452 113,515 0 567,574

Be a ns 61,543 0 17,215 42,615 13,486 134,859

Mi s c. Fi e l d Crops 103,950 0 35,144 108,687 27,531 275,312

Al pha l fa Ha y and Cl ove r 37,392 643,093 0 226,828 0 907,313

Pa s ture and Mi s c. Grasse s 0 357,439 0 119,146 0 476,585

Sma l l Ve ge ta bl e s 310,194 0 109,952 355,057 86,134 861,337

Toma toe s and Peppe rs 151,737 0 46,141 127,432 36,145 361,455

Pota toes , Suga r Be ets , turni p ect. 59,123 0 19,865 61,071 15,562 155,621

Me l ons , Squa s h and Cucumbe rs 57,139 0 18,567 55,200 14,545 145,451

Oni ons and Ga rl ic 29,487 0 10,834 36,064 8,487 84,872

Stra wbe rri e s 0 0 21,362 849 33,317 55,528

Fl owers , Nurs ery and Chri s tma s Tre e 1,858 1,486 0 372 33,441 37,157

Ci trus (no ground cover) 14,048 11,407 0 2,641 252,865 280,961

Ava ca do 2,756 2,205 0 551 49,616 55,128

Mi s c. Subtropi ca l 3,073 2,549 0 524 55,316 61,462

Unknown Gra pe s 202,826 0 0 8,291 633,352 844,469

Idl e 186,829 0 0 0 0 186,829

Tota l 2,380,228 2,656,322 494,776 1,970,056 1,811,622 9,313,004

Needed Educational Training Programs

“Short List” for Drip/Micro Irrigation Systems

• Irrigation Designers

• Irrigation Installers

• Irrigation System Operators

• Irrigation System Maintenance Technicians

• Irrigation System Troubleshooting and Repair Technicians

• Irrigation Schedulers

• Fertigation & Nitrate Management

• Irrigation System Evaluators

Example of an Issue Training Can Help to Address

Example of an Issue Training Can Help to Address

Example of Issue Training Can Help to Address

Irrigation Systems In California

Irrigation Systems In California

The above shows that we could easily see 1 million more acres converted to Drip/Micro (Low Volume) irrigation systems in the next 3 years!

Types of Jobs Needed

Irrigation Designers X 110 150 $75,000

Irrigation System Installation Foremen X 220 275 $60,000

Irrigation System Troubleshooting and Repair Technicians X 275 415 $45,000

New Jobs Irrigation System Operators X 1500 $55,000

Irrigation System Maintenance Technicians X 1000 $35,000

Irrigation Schedulers X 300 $35,000

Fertigation & Nitrate Management Technicians X 300 $40,000

Irrigation System Evaluators X 250 $35,000

Types of Jobs Needed by California Agriculture and Estimates of the Number needed over the next 3 Years

Opportunities in Irrigated Ag • 9.3 million Irrigated Acres

• 5 Major Manufacturers of Drip/Micro Irrigation Main Manufacturing Plants in the US are in California (3 in Fresno)

• 55 Major Irrigation Distributors within a 250 mile radius of Fresno

• Hundreds of Water Districts/Agencies, Government Offices, and Utility Companies

Thousands of Acres Number of Farms

1,000 – 2,000 2,194

2,000 – 5,000 1,382

5,000 + 875

Total 4,451

Employers

• Manufacturers

• Dealers

• Growers

• Water Districts/Agencies

• Utility Companies

• Government

California’s Community Colleges

The California Community College is the Clear Vehicle to Provide the Training and Education Needed

CCC Vice Chancellor’s Strategy

The California Community College’s Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Framework for the Future

Education & e - Learning

Education & e - Learning

Education & e – Learning Developing in Cooperation with Reedley

Community College