Agribusiness & Water Council Board of Directors visit WEST Center

The Board of Directors of the Agribusiness & Water Council (ABWC) of Arizona held their quarterly meeting at the Pima County/WEST Center Water Campus on November 15, 2024. The ABWC is a not-for-profit trade association that was established in 1978. It represents the entire Arizona agricultural community from "ditch bank to dinnerplate;” thus meetings and events are held across the state to facilitate travel/access and local knowledge-sharing by it's members. Members include growers, ranchers, suppliers of equipment, seed, chemicals and services, attorney groups, agricultural processors, financiers of agribusiness enterprises, commodity groups, trade associations, electrical, irrigation and drainage districts, and major state universities.
 

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The organization serves as a voice for the collective agricultural community with respect to policy/legislation/regulation and is importantly involved in practice and conservation education. The ABWC hosts an annual business meeting “featuring local experts, vendors and an opportunity to actively promote water quality, conservation, rights and management.” It also partners with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service to help growers save water through the Water Irrigation Efficiency Program and, in collaboration with Arizona State University, sponsors a Water Management Certificate Program (WMCP).
 

At the November Board of Directors meeting, leadership of the ABWC discussed ongoing programs, shared updates on legislation and regulations, and reviewed requests for ABWC membership. They also heard from WEST Center's Director and Regents Professor, Dr. Ian Pepper. Dr. Pepper shared information about the WEST Center and described several ongoing research projects of interest to the agricultural community. The group toured the University of Arizona's laboratory facility, seeing first-hand many of WEST Center's capabilities and water/energy focused efforts.