Water As A Crop (tm)

Introduction
Worldwide and domestically, water supply and quality problems are increasing. They now occur in areas where they were not previously at issue. Landowners, principally farmers, and range managers are the critical means to improve water resources. Enhancing water quality, supply and reliability can be done with tools and techniques that are within farmers’ grasp now. Sand County Foundation will engage farmers with market-based solutions that they can employ and “buyers” can reinforce with meaningful incentives.

Texas Water As A Crop(tm)
Sand County Foundation has established a partnership with the newly created Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation to be the implementing partner for the first Water As A Crop(tm) pilot project. The project will be located on the Mill Creek subwatershed of the Trinity River. The local landowner leader is Gary Price who, along with his wife Sue, won the 2007 Leopold Conservation Award for Texas.

Project Update
The project began with a partnership with the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and Texas A&M University. TWA worked to create the TBCF to focus on landowner assistance within one of the most important watersheds in Texas. This is the first major project undertaken by TBCF, who is now staffed full time by Jody Carton. Jody has a strong landowner orientation and is collaborating with Gary Price to do one on one meetings with key landowners/operators in the region. The project site has been refined to target approximately 3,000 acres and 15 landowners to sign up to participate in the first year. Between three and four miles of creek frontage and the bulk of the watershed is covered by this site. Landowner records have been secured and one on one meetings are underway now. If these proceed as we hope they will, the first project wide meeting has been tentatively scheduled for the week of May 24, 2010.

An initial local science advisory team has met – and will be refined as the project develops.

Participating in the first meeting were:
Dr. Neal Wilkins, Director, Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas AgriLife Extension

Dr. Urs Kreuter, Associate Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University

Dr. Larry A. Redmon, Professor and State Forage Specialist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service

Kevin Wagner, Associate Director of Texas Water Resources Institute

A local project advisory committee will be established as the project matures. The project advisory committee will include landowners, experts in water conservation, potential buyers of water quality and or quantity produced by the project, policy and funding leaders.

Water As A Crop (tm) is sponsored by:

Pioneer Hi-Bred International