Water

AI-Powered Irrigation System Offers Opportunities for Communications as well as Farming

September 24, 2025

An almond orchard in Parlier provides a look into the future of farming. Researchers at UC Merced and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources installed an irrigation system powered by artificial intelligence to deliver the precise amount of water needed and measure the...

Last Year’s Drought Cost Ag Industry More Than $1 Billion, Thousands of Jobs, New Analysis Shows

The 2021 drought directly cost the California agriculture sector about $1.1 billion and nearly 8,750 full- and part-time jobs, according to estimates in a new analysis led by UC Merced researchers...

Solar-paneled Canals Getting a Test Run in San Joaquin Valley

A research project conducted by a UC Merced graduate student is becoming a reality as the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) approved piloting the first-in-the-nation construction of solar panels over...

A $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will enable a new project at UC Merced to create an integrated program to develop multi-faceted pathways to climate-smart agriculture solutions.

New Climate-focused Agriculture Program Aims to Train Students, Professionals and Farmers

California is the largest and the most diverse agricultural economy in the nation with revenue exceeding $50 billion — larger than the combined agricultural economies of the other 10 western...

A new Regional Climate Change Assessment by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers illustrates problems and possible solutions facing California’s biomes and communities.

Faculty Report IDs Top Climate Challenges Facing Valley

California’s Central Valley is on the front lines of climate change. The Fourth Regional Climate Change Assessment, by a team of UC Merced and affiliated researchers, illustrates the biggest...

Fourth-graders at a Merced elementary school are introduced to agriculture-related sciences by undergrads in the FARMERS program.

USDA Grant Supports Diverse Ag-related Learning and Training for Students

Students at UC Merced and those who might someday become Bobcats are the focus of FARMERS, Professor Rudy M. Ortiz’s training program funded again for $1 million by the U.S. Department of...

Professor Josué Medellín-Azuara is heading up a new study of drought's effects on agricultural communities.

Researchers to Study, Report on Impacts of Drought on Agriculture and Communities

Just because there has been rain lately doesn’t mean California is drought-free. A new $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture is supporting School...

Professor Rebecca Ryals, left, talks to students in her lab.

Research is Clarifying Benefits of Transforming Human Waste into Useable Resources

Human waste isn’t a topic most people want to talk about. But environmental systems Professor Rebecca Ryals embraces the subject, especially when it comes to mitigating climate change,...

State Natural Resources Secretary Visits UC Merced for Campus Research Discussion

California Natural Resources Sec. Wade Crowfoot joined UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz and local leaders today (Nov. 2) to discuss the university-led research on drought, fire and broader...

From left, professors Tom Harmon, David Strubbe, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Michael Scheibner, Sayantani Ghosh and Mehmet Baykara

NSF Grant to Help Grad Students Find Solutions to Environmental Challenges

Graduate students and a convergence of physics, engineering and environmental science could result in not only the next generation of solutions to pressing environmental challenges, but a new group...