Mississippi State University (MSU) is collaborating with Amazon and agricultural technology company Arable on a new initiative to help farmers in the Mississippi Delta improve irrigation efficiency and conserve water.
The project is part of Amazon's global campaign to become water positive by 2030, meaning the company aims to return more water to the environment than it uses. It is one of more than 30 initiatives worldwide focused on water resource management.
Drew Gholson, a scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and irrigation specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said the program addresses growing concerns over water depletion in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRVA). "The concern is more water is being pumped out than replenished," said Gholson. "We want to ensure this valuable resource is available for growers to maintain their yields during low rainfall or drought periods."
Gholson and other MSU researchers are studying tools and techniques that can help producers use irrigation more efficiently. The university's Master Irrigator Program, led by Extension Specialist Dillon Russell, trains growers in water management practices and technologies suited to local production conditions.
Through the new collaboration, farmers in Sharkey, Issaquena, Yazoo, and Warren counties will receive Arable's AI-based irrigation monitoring tools, which track soil moisture, rainfall, and weather patterns. The project, funded by Amazon, will run for 10 years and aims to reduce agricultural water use in the MRVA by about 150 million gallons annually across 10,000 acres. MSU will provide training and technical support, while Arable will supply the technology.
Arable CEO Jim Ethington said the project's success relies on combining technological innovation with local expertise. "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," he said.
Gholson estimates that the tools could help participating farms reduce water use by 15–25% each year. "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."
Mississippi already ranks first in the United States for the use of soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. The new partnership is expected to expand access to more advanced irrigation management systems, supporting both long-term water conservation and sustainable crop production.
For more information:
Meg Henderson
Mississippi State University
Tel: +1 662 325 2323
Email: [email protected]
www.msstate.edu
