Curtis, NE -- Local irrigators, producers, farm managers, agronomists, insurance agents and bankers are invited to attend the 28th annual Southwest Nebraska Water Conference being held Friday, March 7th, 2014 at the Red Willow County Fairgrounds Community Building in McCook. Registration will begin at 8:45 AM with the first session starting at 9:15 AM.

focus will be on projects and technologies for managing water in the basin for today and tomorrow's generations. We'll start with a history of water litigation between Nebraska and Kansas in the It's a Long Road to OZ with attorney Don Blankenau. Dr. Derrel Martin of UNL will provide us with another way of looking at the consumptive use of water by adding value to the water that is being used. The University of Nebraska Water Center will report on their results and experiences with remote sensing technology in crop fields within this District. Upper Republican NRD will provide talk about the Lincoln County River Augmentation project known as N-CORPE and help separate fact from fiction.

Stick around for a catered lunch and get an update on the Kansas vs Nebraska decision and additional agency updates from the Bureau of Reclamation Kansas-Nebraska District Area Office and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Office.

Coffee and breakfast rolls will be provided by Ag Valley Coop. Lunch will be provided by the Middle Republican NRD and Sargent Irrigation. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is also a sponsor of this year's Conference. Several vendors will be exhibiting and be available to answer questions about their services and products during the conference: AG Valley COOP, ECO-Drip, Western Irrigation, Servi-Tech, Quality Irrigation - Valley, Senninger Irrigation, Southwest Irrigation - Reinke, Olsen's Agricultural Laboratory, Southwest AG LLC, McCrometer, Middle Republican NRD.

No registration is required. For more information about the Conference, please contact the Middle Republican NRD at (800) 873-5613.

The Middle Republican NRD protects lives, property and the future of the District through a wide range of stewardship, management and education programs-from flood control to groundwater monitoring, from irrigation management to soil conservation and more. Activities and projects of the Middle Republican NRD are reviewed and approved by a locally elected board of directors. For more information, visit www.mrnrd.org or call 1-800-873-5613.