This article identifies irrigated row-crop farmer factors associated with the adoption of water-conserving practices. The analysis is performed on data from a survey of irrigators in Mississippi. Regression results show that the amount of irrigated area, years of education, perception of a groundwater problem, and participation in conservation programs are positively associated with practice adoption; while number of years farming, growing rice, and pumping cost are negatively associated with adoption. However, not all factors are statistically significant for all practices. Survey results indicate that only a third of growers are aware of groundwater problems at the farm or state level; and this lack of awareness is related to whether farmers noticed a change in the depth to water distance in their irrigation wells. This evidence is consistent with a report to Congress from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that recommends policies promoting the use of: (1) more efficient irrigation technology and practices and (2) precision agriculture technologies, such as soil moisture sensors and irrigation automation.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane and caused widespread flooding. We explored spatial and temporal distributions of well testing and contamination rates; relationships between contamination and system characteristics and recovery behaviors; and efficacy of mitigation strategies. We estimated that over 500 000 well users (∼130 000 to 260 000 wells) may have been affected, but only around 15 000 well users (∼3800 to 7500 wells) had inundated systems based on inundation maps. Local health departments and our team sampled 8822 wells in 44 counties in the 10 months that followed. Total coliform occurrence was 1.5 times and Escherichia coli was 2.8 times higher after Hurricane Harvey compared to baseline levels. Microbial contamination was more likely (1.7–2.5 times higher) when wells were inundated and/or residents felt their water was unsafe. Although more wells in urban counties were affected, E. coli rates were higher in wells in rural counties. Disinfection did not always eliminate contamination, highlighting concerns about the implementation and efficacy of chlorination procedures. Despite this extensive well testing conducted after Hurricane Harvey, we estimate that only 4.1% of potentially affected wells were tested, underscoring the magnitude of recovery assistance needed to assist well users after flooding events.

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Cover crops are promoted for reducing the negative environmental effects of high‐input row‐crop production; however, cover crop adoption in the mid‐southern United States is low, partly because of a perceived increase in risk. The objective of this research was to determine if cover crops cost‐effectively improved the productivity and water use of corn (Zea mays L.) in raised stale seedbed systems. The effects of four cover crops, namely Austrian winter pea [Pisum sativum var. arvense (L.) Poiret], crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), cereal rye (Secale cereal L.), and tillage radish (Raphanus sativus L.), in a raised stale seedbed environment on corn grain yield, net returns, and water use efficiency (WUE) were investigated at Stoneville, MS, on a Commerce very fine sandy loam soil (fine‐silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, thermic Fluvaquentic Endoaquept). A cover crop preceding corn maintained or decreased yield, net returns, and WUE. Cover crops had no effect on corn grain yield in any year, except for 2017, in which Austrian winter pea and cereal rye decreased yield by 37 and 45%, respectively. Tillage radish never affected net returns; however, the inclusion of Austrian winter pea, crimson clover, or cereal rye reduced net returns by up to 57% in two of four years. Cover crops either maintained or decreased WUE by up to 44%. In the 4 yr of this research, the inclusion of a cover crop in a raised stale seedbed system only maintained or decreased corn grain yield, net returns, and WUE.

Core Ideas This study assessed outreach effectiveness and audiences’ preferences for learning about water issues. This study evaluates possible trends in preferences for information sources related to socio‐demographic variables. Random sample survey of Texans to evaluate citizen awareness, attitudes, and willingness to act on water issues. This study assesses outreach effectiveness for particular populations and audiences’ media preferences for learning about water issues and examines preferences for additional information on particular water resource topics, including possible trends in information sources related to socio‐demographic changes from 2008 to 2014. City and municipal water districts reached the greatest number of people with 68.2% of those surveyed and 73.9% of respondents living within city limits (p < 0.0001) receiving water information from these sources. Protecting drinking water supplies (57.4%) and water management for home and garden landscaping (55.8%) were the water resource topics of greatest interests to respondents. Interest in the home and garden landscaping topic increased from 34.1% in 2008 to almost 60% in 2014. This study reports water resource topical areas of greatest interest and preferred methods for reaching various demographic groups, including the growing urban sector. This information is critically important to financially limited organizations disseminating water resource information, including extension, environmental agencies and groups, and cities and water districts, as they seek to efficiently encourage the public to adopt appropriate water resource management and water conservation practices.