- Author: Ben Faber
The California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) is a program unit in the Water Use and Efficiency Branch, Division of Regional Assistance, California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that manages a network of over 145 automated weather stations in California. CIMIS was developed in 1982 by DWR and the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). It was designed to assist irrigators in managing their water resources more efficiently. Efficient use of water resources benefits Californians by saving water, energy, and money. https://cimis.water.ca.gov/
CIMIS reflects the energy that has arrived to drive water use by crops. It is the past. Now the National Weather Service has devised a way of forecasting water use, so that growers can be better prepared for irrigation. The question is how well does this new system work. Well, here are the results or a study that should lend confidence in the predictive value of the system.
COMPARISON BETWEEN FORECASTS OF REFERENCE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION and ETo VALUES CALCULATED USING DATA FROM DIFFERENT CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
G. Ben Hamouda, F. Ventura, D. Zaccaria, R.L. Snyder, K.M. Bali.
Evapotranspiration is the transfer of water from the earth's surface to the atmosphere. It comprises the sum of water losses to atmosphere due to the processes of evaporation of moisture from soil, water bodies and wet plant canopies, and the transpiration of water from plants. Forecasts of this crucial component of the hydrologic cycle can be very valuable for growers, farm managers, irrigation practitioners, water resource planners and managers, and reservoir operators for their planning, allocation, delivery and scheduling decisions, as well as to hydrologic scientists for research purposes. Verifying the reliability of models' forecasts is among the critical tasks for development and performance evaluation of physical models. In fact, the verification allows understanding the models' behavior under different climatic conditions, and evaluating their applicability and dependability.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) has released a product that provides forecasts of reference evapotranspiration (FRET) at 2.5-km grid resolution for the entire continental US. In this study, a comparison is made between ETo estimates from FRET and ETo values calculated by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) for 68 days during summer 2019. Both the FRET forecasts and ETo values were obtained from NWS and CIMIS, respectively, on the basis of 15 CIMIS locations that are representative of different climatic conditions in California. In addition, air temperature, dew point temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) data were also collected/calculated from the NWS and CIMIS websites to analyze the sensitivity of FRET forecasts to predictions of these parameters. All FRET forecasts were performed with timescales of 1, 3, 5 and 7 days. Statistical indices were calculated to assess the dependability of FRET values. They showed a good correlation of the FRET model outputs with CIMIS ETo data, with some differences depending on the climatic characteristics of selected weather stations' locations, suggesting that FRET data could be valuable for anticipating near-future water demand and improve irrigation management in California.
Look for a more detailed description of this study in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering – ‘Evaluation of Forecast Reference Evapotranspiration (FRET) for Different Microclimates Regions in California to Enable Prospective Irrigation Scheduling' - https://ascelibrary.org/journal/jidedh
FRET is available at:
https://www.weather.gov/abr/etforecasts
And more:
https://www.weather.gov/cae/fretinfo.html
https://www.weather.gov/abr/etforecasts
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016AGUFM.H21D1430O/abstract
- Author: Ben Faber
Advances in Citrus Water Management Virtual Workshop
September 9-10, 2021
9AM-12PM PT
REGISTER HERE
Virtual Workshop via Zoom. Zoom information will be sent to registrants closer to the event.
Objective: Join UC Irrigation Specialists Daniele Zaccaria and Khaled Bali, and other University of California experts in this 2-day on-line Workshop to learn about the latest research and advances in Citrus irrigation. Topics include: Citrus water relations, evapotranspiration and crop coefficients, soil-water budgeting, soil characterization and mapping, tree water status, remote sensing, micro-irrigation systems' evaluation, interpreting results of water analysis, and strategies for Citrus irrigation management under limited water supplies. A set of irrigation-related methods, technologies, and products to help schedule irrigation will also be presented during the Workshop. Registration includes participation to the two sessions and access to the recorded workshop presentations. You can view a current event agenda here.
Intended audience: citrus growers and farm managers, representatives from the citrus production industry, irrigation consultants and practitioners, CCAs, CPAs, water resource managers, water conservation districts' personnel, irrigation districts' managers, extension specialists and advisors, professional researchers, university students, and representatives from state agencies.
Contacts for More Information
Logistics/Registration: ANR Program Support, 530-750-1361.
Program: Daniele Zaccaria and Khaled Bali
- Author: Ben Faber
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Two additional RAs were added to the NMP implementation schedule as part of the October 2020 Water Quality Management Plan update: RA 11 (McGrath Lake Coastal) and RA 16 (Boulder Creek). Both are shown in green with a deadline of the end of April 2021.
Note: This workshop is intended for growers, and their representatives, who are looking to learn more about nitrogen management planning and/or intend to self-certify their plans. If you are only looking to fulfill the annual 2-hour continuing education requirement, there is an event approved for education credit on April 16 (below) and additional events will be announced as they are scheduled throughout the year.
**6 Hours of VCAILG CEUs pending Regional Board approval
/table>- Author: Ben Faber
Please register for Nitrogen Management Plan Self-Certification Webinar on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17/18, 2020 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST at:
https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/2352520986463929090
This workshop is intended for growers, and their representatives, who are looking to learn more about nitrogen management planning and/or intend to self-certify their plans. It is also a good education on how nitrogen works in our environment and how it can be managed. The program is sponsored by CA Department of Food and Agriculture, University of CA Cooperative Extension and the Ventura County Irrigated Lands Group.
Attendees must participate in both sessions to receive education credit and qualify to take the online certification test after the final webinar session.
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.
This workshop will open a half hour early at 8:30am, to allow attendees to test their connection and access the GoTo Training webinar link.
Email organizer: training@lwa.com
Image of nitrogen deficient avocado leaf on left
- Author: Ben Faber
INTERACTIVE IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE THE LEACHING OF NITROGEN
IIMRLN PROGRAM
The program purpose is to reduce the amount of nitrogen leached from farms with the goal of enhancing surface and groundwater quality
Participants will be selected based on:
• potential for nitrogen leaching and proximity to nitrogen-impaired waterbody
• potential for water-use and fertilizer use reductions
Participants will receive:
• a free NIM station, irrigation and nutrient data reports, and access to real-time soil moisture data
• free access to irrigation and nutrient management technical assistance and recommendations
Free Zoom Workshops – just click the link to participate on the date and time indicated!
Hear details from Jodi Switzer - Farm Bureau VC, Ben Waddell - Fruit Growers Lab, Israel Camacho - AGQ Labs, Eryn Wingate - Tri-Tech Ag, and Jamie Whiteford - VCRCD
Monday October 19, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. To attend this remote workshop click HERE
Thursday October 22, 9:00 - 10:00 am. To attend this remote workshop click HERE
Friday October 23, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. To attend this remote workshop click HERE
Friday October 23, 1:00 - 2:00 pm. To attend this remote workshop click HERE
For program questions contact JamieWhiteford.vcrcd@gmail.com, 805-764-5132. For program information or to complete an IIMRLN application click: IIMRLN webpage