**5. Conclusions**

This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of moderate deficit irrigation strategies during summer harvest cycles (less applied water than normal farmers' irrigation practices) on conserving water and maintaining a robust hay production.

The proposed deficit irrigation strategies conducted showed a promising and decent amount of water conservation and simultaneously generated desirable hay yields and quality. However, yield penalties of this practice must be considered. These moderate deficit irrigation practices resulted in an average of 1.47 Mg ha−<sup>1</sup> and 0.31 Mg ha−<sup>1</sup> hay yield reduction, but used

33% (≈0.31 (ha.m) ha<sup>−</sup>1) and 12.5% less applied-water than normal farmer practice over the summer (≈0.10 (ha.m) ha<sup>−</sup>1), respectively.

Several cautionary notes need to be considered with the data reported and the analysis provided in this study:


**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, A.M. and D.P.; Data curation, A.M.; Formal analysis, A.M.; Funding acquisition, A.M.; Investigation, A.M., O.B., and D.C.; Methodology, A.M., D.C., and D.P.; Project administration, A.M.; Supervision, A.M.; Writing—original draft, A.M.; Writing—review & editing, A.M., O.B., D.C., and D.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** Funding for this study was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), through Palo Verde Water Conservation RCPP (Regional Conservation Partnership Program).

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank the local NRCS office in Blythe, Palo Verde Resource Conservation District, and Palo Verde Irrigation District for providing their support and input. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Seiler Farms and Chaffin Farms for their sincere collaboration during this study, and for allowing us to implement the project in their agricultural operations. The authors wish to acknowledge the technical support of Tayebeh Hosseini and Tait Rounsaville, whose conscientious works in the field and in the laboratory were crucial to the success of this study.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
