Phase 2: Pilot Project

In 2018, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UGA CAES) faculty members Calvin Perry and Dr. George Vellidis were awarded a Regional Water Plan Seed Grant to develop a Phase 2 – Pilot Project. Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division of DNR manages the grant program. This Seed Grant project built upon the 2017 Phase 1 Project and expanded its activities while concentrating the work (farmers and extension agents) within the Lower Flint – Ochlocknee Regional Water Council (LFO) and the Upper Flint Regional Water Council (UF) regions of Georgia - as these two regions are the most intensively irrigated in the state. This Phase 2 project deployed updated versions of the same SMSS and App used in the Phase 1 project.

The goals of this Phase 2 Seed Grant project were to:

• Expand and deploy advanced agricultural irrigation scheduling tools for cotton to a broad and diverse group of farmers across nine counties in the LFO and UF areas.
• Coordinate and train UGA Extension agents who will identify and work closely with the participating farmers and help collect data (water use, yield, etc.).
• Incorporate ‘social science’ activities (surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc.) to learn agent and farmer opinions/beliefs and/or behavioral changes related to perception and adoption of the tools – before and after the project.
• Share project results with participating agents, online via a website, and directly to the LFO and UF councils.