2025 IA Award recipients
The Irrigation Association (IA) announced the winners of its 2025 awards, including its Industry Achievement, Innovator, Excellence in Education, and Vanguard awards. The 2025 IA award recipients will be honored at the 2025 Irrigation Show and Education Week in New Orleans, December 8-11.
INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chris Keating, CID, was named the recipient of the 2025 Industry Achievement Award. This award is the IA’s highest honor and recognizes an individual whose career demonstrates outstanding contributions to the advancement of the irrigation industry.
Keating has spent more than five decades in the irrigation industry, earning a reputation as a technical expert, approachable mentor and passionate advocate for efficient water use. He began as a contractor and quickly became a local authority, eager to share knowledge with peers and even competitors. Over the years, he has helped shape the profession through his work in state chapter associations, mentoring programs, workforce development and training initiatives. In Toro distribution and at The Toro Company, where he held various sales and management roles, Keating supported the growth of countless professionals, from new hires to emerging contractors and E3 learners. Known for his deep knowledge and clear, accessible teaching style, he continues to inspire a new generation of irrigation professionals.
Keating’s influence extends through his extensive volunteer work with the IA and related organizations. He has held leadership roles at the state and national level, including serving on the IA Board of Directors, chair of the Irrigation Foundation and numerous leadership roles on state Irrigation Associations in New Jersey, Virginia and the Carolinas. His time with the Irrigation Foundation was pivotal in shifting its focus toward workforce development, helping to launch lasting IA initiatives like the E3 program.
“I am humbled to have been nominated and to receive the IA Industry Achievement Award. It’s surreal to be mentioned in the same breath with the past recipients, many who have inspired me and impacted my life and career,” said Keating. “I’ve had a 50-year relationship with The Toro Company as a contractor customer, a distributor and, of course, an employee. Receiving this award is a wonderful validation that hard work, ethical behavior, education, certification and mentoring have value.”
INNOVATOR AWARD
Russ Jundt, Conserva Irrigation, was named the recipient of the 2025 Innovator Award. IA’s Innovator Award honors individuals who have made significant, tangible contributions to irrigation through innovative work that advances the industry and improves the wise use of water resources.
Jundt co-founded Conserva Irrigation in 2010 — the first irrigation company established solely around the principle of water conservation. Driven to address the inefficiencies of traditional sprinkler systems, Jundt led Conserva to develop innovative tools like the System Efficiency Score, a diagnostic platform that helps property owners improve irrigation performance and reduce water waste. Under his leadership, Conserva has improved water efficiency for tens of thousands of systems across the country. His integration of smart irrigation technologies, such as weather-based controllers and high-efficiency components, has helped shift industry standards toward more sustainable, data-driven practices. Through a franchise-based business model and notable national projects, including work with Target Corporation, Jundt has proven that conservation and profitability can go hand in hand.
Jundt is a dedicated advocate for sustainable water use and environmental responsibility. He works closely with industry associations, policymakers and communities to promote the adoption of efficient irrigation practices. His efforts have not only helped shape industry conversations but have also supported a broader movement toward innovation and long-term resource stewardship.
“For me, founding Conserva Irrigation was about more than just starting a business; it was about standing up for an industry often misunderstood and, more importantly, creating a business model hyper-focused on inspiring others to help join the crusade of saving the Earth’s vital fresh water supply,” said Jundt. “To receive the Irrigation Association Innovation Award is truly humbling and deeply rewarding, affirming that all of Conserva’s passion and purpose are making a real difference.”
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARD
Derek Heeren, Ph.D., PE, of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln is the recipient of IA’s 2025 Excellence in Education Award. This award recognizes an outstanding educator who teaches irrigation, water management and/or water conservation and has a commitment to not only elevating the level of education but also promoting the field of irrigation as a viable and sustainable career to students.
Heeren has made a lasting impact on irrigation education through his leadership in curriculum development, textbook authorship and commitment to student success. At the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, he has taught irrigation-related courses and led the creation of new graduate and undergraduate pathways in irrigation and agricultural water management, including an online certificate program that expands access to irrigation education beyond campus. Heeren also served as general editor of Irrigation Systems Management, a widely used open-access textbook published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and developed a companion Instructor Kit. Heeren also led the development of the Irrigation Educator GPT— a smart assistant, available in 58+ languages, to help students, producers and ag professionals make better irrigation decisions.
Through hands-on mentoring and active student engagement, Heeren has helped shape the next generation of irrigation professionals. He has mentored over 20 undergraduates in research roles and has advised or co-advised 20 graduate students from nine countries who were nearly all working on irrigation-related projects. Outside the university, Heeren has played an active role in both the IA and ASABE, contributing to technical committees, standards development, presenting at past Faculty Academies and writing educational articles. He now serves as associate head for academic programs at UNL and as education coordinator for the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive the Irrigation Association’s Excellence in Education Award,” said Heeren. “My work focuses on equipping students with real-world skills in irrigation, while building programs that serve both industry and international development. I’m especially grateful to the many students, colleagues, and partners whose collaboration and passion for water stewardship make this work both meaningful and impactful.”
VANGUARD AWARD
IA announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service pyfao56 Open-Source Evapotranspiration and Water Balance Tool has been named the recipient of the 2025 Vanguard Award. The IA’s Vanguard Award honors an innovative project in the irrigation industry executed by a team of individuals, companies, organizations or other group entities. Projects chosen for this award exemplify the IA’s mission of promoting innovation in efficient irrigation and supporting industry growth and sustainability.
pyfao56 is an open-source, community-driven software tool designed to improve the way evapotranspiration and crop water use are calculated and applied in irrigation management. Led by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the project is built on the globally recognized FAO-56 guidelines and overcomes the limitations of earlier tools. By applying modern software principles, including a modular, object-oriented design, pyfao56 allows ET modeling to be more transparent, customizable and accessible. Its open-source structure, hosted on GitHub, promotes collaboration, customization and scientific transparency, making it a widely adaptable resource for research, education and practical irrigation decision-making.
In just a few years, pyfao56 has gained significant global reach and impact, with more than 15,000 downloads and known users in the U.S., Brazil, China, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It has been adopted in university curricula, state Mesonet systems, commercial decision tools and major research initiatives. A $700,000 USDA grant is supporting its integration into hydrologic models and smartphone apps, while its collaborative structure continues to attract new contributors and drive innovation. By modernizing and democratizing ET modeling, pyfao56 is helping to advance more efficient, data-driven irrigation practices on a global scale.
“The USDA Agricultural Research Service is thrilled to see pyfao56 recognized with the prestigious Vanguard Award from the Irrigation Association. This open-source, community-driven tool is already transforming how producers, researchers, and water managers estimate evapotranspiration and manage irrigation to enhance water resources,” said Daren Harmel, USDA-ARS Director of the Center for Agricultural Resources Research. “By making the standardized FAO-56 methodology freely available and customizable, the pyfao56 tool empowers a wide range of stakeholders—from university classrooms to commercial farms and public agencies—to make smarter, data-driven irrigation decisions. We encourage anyone involved in water management, agricultural research, or irrigation technology to explore pyfao56 and join the growing user community and contribute to its continued innovation and expanding impact.”
More information about this and other IA awards and past recipients can be found at irrigation.org/awards
