Agreement Number
NR243A750011G015
Awardee Name
Sustainable Conservation
Grant Type
Classic
Project Title
Improving Water Quality by Reducing Nitrate Loss from Dairies: Demonstrating How Surplus Manure Can Be Applied Safely to Almonds Using Subsurface Drip Irrigation
Awardee State/Territory
California
Involved States/territories
California
Award Year
2023
Start Date
End Date
Award Amount
$627,555.00
Production/Use
Animal Agriculture and Husbandry
Farmland Agricultural
Resource Concern (Broad)
Water
Resource Concern (Specific)
Inefficient irrigation water use
Nonpoint nitrogen leaching loss; nitrogen
Nutrients transported to groundwater
Nutrients transported to surface water
Pathogens
Water Quality
Water Quantity
Conservation Practice(s)
Irrigation System: Microirrigation
Irrigation Water Management
Nutrient Management
Project Background
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate how an existing dairy manure subsurface drip irrigation system can be modified to further improve groundwater quality by safely applying the system on pasteurized almonds. Doing so provides dairy producers with a viable method to export surplus nutrients, thus avoiding overapplication of nitrogen which occurs during the conventional practice of forage crop flood irrigation.
Project Scale
Field-level
Project targeted to Historically Underserved producers?
No
Awardee Technical Contact Name
John Cardoza