The Era To Evolve: 2021 IA Conference Overview
The 2021 IA (Irrigation Association) Conference in San Diego was a chart-topping hit, despite layups from the previous year.
Twenty-twenty was a challenge, to say the least. The year witnessed struggle and conflict iced over with endurance and adaptability that emboldened the IA to stitch themselves into this reflective undertow of change. After a conference-free 2020, the outcome of 2021’s conference was difficult to predict. Fortunately, the event wound up a success, eliciting a comeback punctuated by a concerted need to regroup, evolve, and move forward.
Passing A Brightly Lit Torch
IA’s former CEO, Deborah Hamlin, announced her retirement in August 2021. In her 15-year tenure, Hamlin consolidated industry training, implemented a fresh brand and mission, developed a profitable online learning center, heightened education accessibility through a virtual learning center, and expanded into the publishing sector with two industry magazines, Irrigation & Lighting and Irrigation Today. Given Hamlin’s catalog of IA contributions, the conference attendees were anxious to see who would fill her broken-in shoes. As it turns out, Hamlin’s replacement has amassed a footprint in her own right.
Newly named CEO Natasha Rankin carries 25 years of industry experience, including her most recent role as COO for the American Counseling Association, where she was instrumental in garnering soaring levels of membership and revenue growth. She also served as executive director for the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation and the Greeting Card Association at Bostrom Corporation as well as executive director of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. Rankin’s aim “to advance policy and research, education and training, and workforce development for such a thriving and essential industry” appears to be a vision of which she’s more-than-capable of framing.
A President With Promise
With a new conference comes a new IA president. John Newlin may be newly elected, but he’s hardly freshly-minted. A 29-year veteran in the irrigation pocket, John is the owner of Quality Services, a Cleveland-based business that provides services in irrigation, installation, and lawn fertilization. He has also volunteered on several committees and as an instructor with the IA. Though past leadership has laid a sturdy foundation for the IA, the recently appointed voices are sure to be integral in shepherding the organization into the future.
One Year Missed, Two New Twists
Over 190 vendors packed the showcase floor, including heavy-hitters Hunter, Toro, and K-Rain as well as modest outfits like Main’s Simple Flow, Inc. and Kifco, Inc. On track with the hunger for change, this year’s exhibition stretched beyond the garden variety components with two new inclusions.
The first, Innovation Row, allows startup irrigation technology companies to promote their platforms to industry movers and shakers. The second added bonus was the Pitch Competition at Innovation Hub, where 40 contenders went toe-to-toe in a 5-category contest judged by experienced professionals. Evaluated on innovation, design quality, increased water/resource-use efficiency, ease of use and product life expectancy, the lion’s share of the product pool were enhanced versions of familiar models. Some of the winning designs of the irrigation gridiron included:
- Agriculture Irrigation: Toro’s Automation System paves the possibility for wireless devices to connect to the cloud via 4G or WiFi base stations and manipulate your irrigation system from the palm of your hand.
- Landscape Irrigation: Raid Bird’s Flow-Indicating Basket Filter is touted as the best solution to monitor drip system performance. It’s the only product that offers all-in-one flow measurement, filtration, and integrated 40 psi pressure regulation in a compact solution.
- Specialty Landscape Irrigation: Irrometer’s WaterSwitch collaborates with existing valves or controllers to maximize irrigation efficiency based on plant demand.
In conjunction with the ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers), the once-in-a-decade Irrigation Symposium spotlights new insights and information from topics covering agricultural and landscape irrigation industries. This includes updates on irrigation systems, innovations in technology transfer, turf and landscape irrigation, and irrigation in humid regions, charting a trail for irrigation trends in the next 10 years.
Connecting Over Cold Ones
It wouldn’t be a conference without a networking outlet, and it wouldn’t be an Irrigation Association conference without an opportunity to self-irrigate. The Social Hour kicked off with Hunter Industries’ champagne toast to mark their 40th anniversary. The remaining time supplied a vehicle to enjoy craft brew while exchanging ideas and convening about recently-discovered developments with industry colleagues.
Vegas, Baby!
The COVID days evidently haven’t dented the IA’s ambition, especially with the next conference slated to exceed the last. Those in the landscaping, agriculture, and irrigation sectors are urged to expand their brands and refine their company’s visibility by being a part of this ultimate irrigation resource. Drawing qualified buyers and irrigation experts from across the globe, the 2022 Irrigation Show & Education Week will be held on December 5-9 in Las Vegas, Nevada–because exercising passion through knowledge and growth is never a gamble.
