Improving Water Storage for Water Resilience: Developing a Train-the-Trainer Program on Best Practices for Agricultural Ponds and Reservoirs

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Commodities

Practices

• Animal Production: watering systems
• Crop Production: water management, water storage
• Education and Training: extension, networking, technical assistance, workshop
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, wetlands, wildlife
• Production Systems: permaculture

The western US is experiencing unprecedented drought and increasingly extreme heat events, leading to both a greater demand for irrigation water and less water to meet these demands. Storing water is thus becoming a critically important tool utilized by farmers and ranchers to increase on-farm resilience. Hotter and drier summers, however, are leading to heightened challenges with water storage including vegetative growth, eutrophication, and water use restrictions. Due to these issues, OSU Extension and local conservation agencies have received weekly questions regarding the construction, use, and maintenance of agricultural ponds and reservoirs for water storage. A lack of region-specific informational materials has meant agricultural professionals are unable to efficiently and effectively address growers’ needs.  

To address this critical lack of information, we will develop a Train-the-Trainer program, the Agricultural Pond and Reservoir Management (Ag-PARM) program, in collaboration with key growers and professionals serving the agricultural community. The Ag-PARM program will consist of modules that address the permitting, design, use, and agricultural and ecological benefits of ponds and reservoirs. It will be developed with a statewide focus, but due to the large climatic and agricultural differences across Oregon, will be regionally adapted for four distinct agroecosystems: the Oregon Coast, the Willamette Valley, central Oregon, and eastern Oregon.
 

The project will culminate in one-day workshops in each of the four regions where we will directly train approximately 120 agricultural water management professionals using the Ag-PARM curriculum. The prepared curriculum materials will be used for the development of easily digestible peer-reviewed university Extension documents, an interactive learning website, and an Oregon State University (OSU) Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) course to expand the reach of the training and continue educating key stakeholders after the project concludes. 

The overall objective of this project is to develop a Train-the-Trainer program for agricultural pond and reservoir management (Ag-PARM). The program will culminate in Train-the-Trainer workshops in four regions across Oregon (Coastal, the Willamette Valley, Central, and Eastern) for state and local agencies, conservation districts, county Extension agents, influential producers, and others, with the idea that they will be able to effectively provide educational and technical assistance to growers in their area. 

Specific objectives are: 

1. Objective 1 - Needs Assessment: Work with Extension county agents and local experts in the four regions to survey agricultural professionals and producers on the regional information gaps, interests, and needs surrounding ponds and reservoirs. This will be performed at the beginning of the project and completed by the second quarter of Year 1. 
2. Objective 2 - Material Development: The project team in the four regions will co-create the training modules and materials with input from key agricultural professionals and producers. Annual planning meetings will allow for strengthened regional connections, prioritization of needs, and project feedback. These materials will be completed by the end of Year 2. 
3. Objective 3 - Train-the-Trainer: Conduct one-day workshops in each of the four regions to train approximately 30 professionals per region (e.g., state and local agencies, Extension agents, conservation districts, and influential producers) using the developed curriculum.
    
4. Objective 4 - Project Continuation: By the end of the project, the materials created in Obj 2 will be submitted to OSU Communications to develop Extension documents, the material will be used to create an interactive learning website, and the developed curriculum will be submitted to OSU’s Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) office to begin the process of creating a PACE course. These activities will expand the reach of the project and continue training agricultural professionals on ponds and reservoirs.