2022 Conference Season is Here!

The virtual 24th annual Arkansas Soil and Water Education Conference & Expo will officially be on January 26, 2022.

Due to COVID-19, our conference will be virtual this year for the safety of our attendees. We hope to have an in-person conference again soon, but for now we hope that you are staying healthy and safe.

More information about this year's conference such as speakers, poster contest information, and other information will be available soon. Please watch for updates on our social media and online.

Meet The Speaker: Richard Pickett

Richard Pickett is a small business owner and accelerated master’s student at Arkansas State University. Richard Pickett was raised in Lee County, AR and spent twelve years in the United States Marine Corps (2006-2018), where he specialized in intelligence analysis and operations, as well as small unmanned systems (drone) operations for various units throughout his time in the military. Since retiring in December 2018, Richard Pickett has operated his small business consisting of drones in agriculture offering services to include plant health monitoring (NDVI), prescription creation, and most recently in 2020 agriculture land surveying for earthworks, drainage, and irrigation designs. Simultaneously, Richard Pickett as been attending Arkansas State University since January 2019, pursuing multiple degrees in agriculture to include BA-Ag Systems Technology and a MA in Digital Agriculture.

Join us on Jan. 27, 2021 at 10:10 AM to watch Richard Pickett's presentation: Drone Elevation Data and Its Practical Use.

Meet The Speaker: Dr. James Rigby

Dr. James Rigby

Dr. Rigby is a Research Hydrologist and Acting Branch Chief with the Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center. Dr. Rigby has served as the project chief for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain Water Availability Study since joining the USGS in February 2020 providing the scientific leadership behind one of the USGS's largest ongoing water availability studies. Previously Dr. Rigby was a research hydrologist at the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory where he developed innovative approaches to managed aquifer recharge and was co-lead on the Lower Mississippi River Basin Long-term Agroecosystem Research site. His research crosses multiple disciplines including hydrology, water resources, sediment transport, and atmospheric boundary layer processes. Since 2015, his primary research emphasis has been the hydrology and sustainable management of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer.

Join us on Jan. 27, 2021 at 10:35 AM to watch Dr. Rigby's presentation: System-scale science to support groundwater resources: the present and future of the USGS Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) Project