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Garrard helps Black Belt Prairie farmers optimize pivot irrigation
Patrick Garrard was a 15-year-old high school student in Starkville when he got a job with an independent crop consultant. The experience not only deepened his knowledge of the Black Belt Prairie farming region but also set him on a path toward the Water Resources Research Institute at Mississippi State University.
"I developed a passion for row-crop agriculture," said Garrard, who joined WRRI as a project manager in December 2025. "I enjoyed making recommendations to farmers on what they could do to be more profitable. Now, I'm working on different projects to help farmers with a focus on irrigation. It's the perfect fit for me."
Garrard's knowledge and experience have grown exponentially since his days scouting crop fields as a teenager. After high school, he majored in agronomy at Mississippi State and interned with another crop consulting company, which hired him fulltime after he graduated in 2013.
For the next 12 years, Garrard worked with row-crop farmers in North Mississippi and into northern Alabama, where he gained insights into production practices that differ from those in his home state.
"The Tennessee River Valley extends into North Alabama, where they have red, loamy, rolling soil compared to the heavy clay soils in the Black Belt Prairie," he said. "It is two different worlds in how they grow crops. It gave me an appreciation for the variety of production practices in the region and how farmers have adapted to them."
Garrard's next role was serving as an MSU Extension Service agent for Chickasaw and Clay counties, where he broadened his expertise in beef and timber production. In this position, he strengthened relationships across the agricultural community and discovered new ways to support local producers.
As a WRRI project manager, Garrard helps Black Belt Prairie farmers improve pivot irrigation strategies. Unlike the Mississippi Delta, where most irrigation comes from the relatively shallow Alluvial Aquifer and is furrow irrigated, the Black Belt Prairie's water table is deep underground, making it cost-prohibitive for farmers to dig wells.
Instead, most farmers build watershed reservoirs that catch rainwater and runoff, then use overhead pivot irrigation to water crops. The system works well when rain is plentiful, but many growers risk running out of water during long dry spells.
Thanks to soil moisture sensors provided by WRRI, farmers can increase irrigation efficiency by applying water specifically when and where crops need it. Garrard is working with farmers to deploy moisture sensor technology in fields throughout the region.
"Our projects at WRRI are teamwork efforts that involve continuing research and hands-on assistance for farmers," Garrard said. "It's a great team, and we're making a difference by helping Mississippi farmers be more successful.
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