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Water, Policy and the Future of California Farming is Focus of the 2011 Intelligent Use of Water Summit: California Agriculture at a Crossroads

Scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at the Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis, California, the Summit is open to the public at no charge and will feature two morning panel discussions followed by a lunchtime presentation.

The first panel of experts will address land and water rights issues surrounding the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which provides water to 25 million Californians and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. This session will begin at 9:00 am and features:

• Tim Quinn, Executive Director, Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA)
• Byron Buck, Executive Director, State and Federal Contractors Water Agency (SFCWA)
• Jason Peltier, Chief Deputy General Manager, Westlands Water District
• Joe Del Bosque, President and CEO, Empresas Del Bosque
• Richard Matoian, Executive Director, Western Pistachio Association
• Mario Santoyo, Assistant General Manager, Friant Water Authority (FWA) and Executive Director of the California Latino Water Coalition

The second session will address recent policy initiatives, with an emphasis on the Water Conservation Act of 2009 (SBX7-7, SBX7-6) and its impact on California's farming industry. This session will begin at 10:45 am and includes the following experts:

• Mike Wade, Executive Director, California Farm Water Coalition
• Dave Orth, General Manager, Kings River Conservation District (KRCD)
• Manucher Alemi, Chief, Office of Water Use & Efficiency, CA Dept. Water Resources
• Juliet Christian-Smith, Senior Research Associate, Pacific Institute

Panelist will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences and observations and propose recommendations that address the critical relationship between California's agriculture industry and the state's limited water supply to an audience of agricultural and water professionals as well as government representatives, NGOs, key water industry representatives and the media.

The morning panels will be moderated by Dr. David Zoldoske, director of the Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), California State University, Fresno. Serving as director since 1994, Dr. Zoldoske oversees CIT's independent testing laboratories, applied research facility, and educational resource center. He also serves as the executive director of the California State University's Water Resources and Policy Initiative and is a past president of the Irrigation Association and the American Society of Agronomy (CA-chapter). Dr. Zoldoske has authored or co-authored over 100 articles on water and irrigation and has over 30 years of experience addressing irrigation and water policy issues.

The summit will conclude with a lunchtime presentation in which Andrew Gregson, CEO of Australia's New South Wales Irrigators' Council and Rebecca Nelson, lead researcher of the Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Program at Stanford University, will present case studies on Australian water policy and compare and contrast those with California's current water situation.

Established in 2004 as a forum to further define the relationship between water conservation and outdoor water use, The Intelligent Use of Water Summit series presents a view of the current and future state of water resources through the eyes of water conservation and environmental experts. Previous summit locations have included: Pasadena, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Tempe, Ariz.; Madrid, Spain; Aix-en-Provence, France; Melbourne, Australia; and most recently, Washington DC in April of 2010.

The Intelligent Use of Water Summit: California Agriculture at a Crossroads will be held at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District in Clovis, California on March 15^th, 2011 and is open to the public at no charge. Session and lunch presentation seating is limited. Please register online at www.rainbird.com/summitRSVP.

For updates on all of Rain Bird's Intelligent Use of Water initiatives, follow @RainBirdCorp and visit Rain Bird's Facebook page.

ABOUT RAIN BIRD CORPORATION

Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry's broadest range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the world. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler. Rain Bird and The Intelligent Use of Water is about using water wisely. Its commitment extends beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and the community. Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico http://www.rainbird.com.

The Pollack PR Marketing Group
William Ostedt/Stefan Pollack
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