ORS Chapter 568 — Soil and Water Conservation;

ORS 568.950. Agricultural water management technical assistance program. The Oregon State University Extension Service and the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station shall jointly establish an agricultural water management technical assistance program. The technical assistance program shall be a voluntary, nonregulatory and incentive-based program that may include the following elements: (1) Staffing of agricultural water management specialists based in different regions of this state who will be responsible for: (a) Building collaborative relationships with water and land managers; and (b) Developing research-based water management programs that utilize data collected under subsection (6) of this section to provide publicly available statewide and regional tools for water and land managers that foster regionally specific knowledge and expertise. (2) Connecting agricultural producers to information, resources, tools, programs, partners, funding opportunities and other incentives to improve on-farm water management practices and outcomes for the producers operations and water resources. (3) Creating a voluntary demonstration network of willing agricultural producers to develop on-farm demonstration projects featuring water-related management practices that yield quantifiable water quality and quantity benefits for the producers operations and water resources and to promote the uptake of effective practices, including, but not limited to: (a) Modification of irrigation equipment; (b) Measurement and monitoring of water diversions and water use; (c) Use of data in decision-making; (d) Irrigation management practices; (e) Soil management practices; (f) Dryland farming practices; (g) Crop rotations and rotational grazing practices; (h) Temporary or permanent voluntary in-stream flow restoration, such as in-stream leasing and split-season leasing, as described in ORS 537.348; (i) Use of the program for the allocation of conserved water established under ORS 537.455 to 537.500; (j) Novel water sharing agreements or arrangements that benefit other in-stream and out-of-stream water uses; (k) Water reuse; (L) Effective use of state and federal programs; (m) Practices that restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat; (n) Practices that reduce energy use and costs; (o) Fish screening and fish passage; and (p) Experimentation with alternative crops and drought-resistant crops. (4) Identifying, studying and mitigating the effects of projects and practices implemented under subsection (3) of this section on in-stream and out-of-stream water users and uses, and conducting related outreach. (5) Organizing workshops and tours to promote innovative agricultural water management practices. (6) Establishing and maintaining or supporting publicly available weather and irrigation information systems designed to collect, process and make publicly available climate and weather-related data and provide to agricultural producers tools that support increased production, increased resilience to drought and flood events and the efficient management of water resources. (7) In consultation with the Water Resources Department, contracting with an organization that provides publicly accessible, reproducible, satellite-based evapotranspiration data using open science methods, open data services and an ensemble of well-established evapotranspiration models to: (a) Support ongoing and reliable evapotranspiration data production and platform maintenance for public use across this state; (b) Support data collection and technical analyses to improve the accuracy of the data for different regions in Oregon; and (c) Conduct outreach to agricultural producers and other subject matter experts to verify accuracy and increase usability of the data. (8) Partnering with agricultural producers and other subject matter experts to check the accuracy of data, develop new tools, adapt available tools, experiment with new technologies and approaches and identify best management practices. (9) Performing and publishing research related to agricultural water management. (10) Developing and updating Oregon-specific guides, manuals and other resources, with a focus on resources that will increase the likelihood of securing federal funding and assistance for agricultural water management and increase the effective delivery of desired outcomes. (11) Providing technical assistance to small farmers or ranchers in accessing state and federal assistance programs, including but not limited to disaster assistance programs. [2023 c.606 12] Note: