Water-related risk is becoming more complex, more urgent, and more central to ag lending. Whether it’s shifting regulations, uncertain access, or climate-driven extremes, water issues increasingly influence long-term land viability and lender strategy.
With the right data in hand, lenders can move faster, lend smarter, and guide borrowers with greater confidence.
The Agcor platform helps make that possible by surfacing the critical water context behind every decision. Now, we’re investing in making that intelligence even more powerful – and expanding it far beyond the West.
To lead that charge, we’re excited to welcome Douglas DeFlitch as our new Water Intelligence Director.
Why Water Risk Is the Next Frontier
Water risk isn’t just a Western issue – and it doesn’t follow neat regional lines. In the Midwest, it often includes rainfall and aquifer health. In the East, it might be infrastructure or water quality. Wherever you’re lending, understanding water is key to understanding land viability and managing long-term risk.
The pressure is growing, and clarity has never been more important.
The Agcor platform helps lenders surface objective, context-rich water data, transforming local knowledge into clear, documented insight. That visibility makes it possible to move faster, guide borrowers more strategically, and make decisions with greater confidence.
This shift – from gut feel to informed, defensible evaluation – is redefining how water fits into lending strategy. And we’re just getting started.
Meet Douglas DeFlitch: From Creek Beds to Complex Water Systems
Douglas’s connection to water started early, building makeshift dams in creeks as a kid, long before he understood what a “water table” actually was. “Back then,” he says, “the only water tables I knew were the creeks behind my house.”
That early curiosity turned into a lifelong career. After studying geology and groundwater modeling, he spent nearly a decade with the Bureau of Reclamation managing two major dams in California. He later became COO of the Friant Water Authority, overseeing supply for over a million acres of irrigated farmland.
His experience spans hydrology, water policy, and large-scale water operations — all of which have shaped his view that data, access, and context are essential. “Water intelligence isn’t a luxury,” he says. “It’s a necessity.”
What’s Next: Building Tools for a Changing Landscape
In his new role, Douglas will collaborate across teams to…
- Strengthen water risk capabilities in the West, including long-term forecasting.
- Develop models tailored to regional realities across the Midwest and Eastern United States.
- Ensure lenders everywhere can assess, monitor, and act on water-related risk with confidence.
The platform already helps ag lenders understand long-term sustainability, track water rights and allocations, and surface emerging risks – including through a sustainability indicator, a forward-looking score that shows how water access may shift over time.
That capability is already in use by lenders like MetLife to guide sustainable investment strategies, and it directly supports Growers Edge’s broader mission to help customers operationalize sustainability with objective, measurable insights.
With Douglas’s leadership, we’re expanding both the reach and precision of these capabilities and making them accessible to more regions than ever.
“Farmers are incredibly resourceful,” he adds. “They’ll adapt – they always do. But they need better tools. And so do the lenders who support them.”
Ready to See Water Risk More Clearly?
Ag lending is changing, and water is at the center of it. We’re helping lenders across the country see what’s ahead.
Explore how the Agcor platform helps you understand water risk.