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The Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Climate

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  • Richard Hornbeck
  • Pinar Keskin

Abstract

Agriculture on the American Great Plains has been constrained by historical water scarcity. After World War II, technological improvements made groundwater from the Ogallala aquifer available for irrigation. Comparing counties over the Ogallala with nearby similar counties, groundwater access increased irrigation intensity and initially reduced the impact of droughts. Over time, land-use adjusted toward water-intensive crops and drought-sensitivity increased; conversely, farmers in water-scarce counties maintained drought-resistant practices that fully mitigated higher drought-sensitivity. Land values capitalized the Ogallala's value at $26 billion in 1974; as extraction remained high and water levels declined, the Ogallala's value fell to $9 billion in 2002.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 17625.

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Date of creation: Nov 2011
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17625

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  1. repec:reg:rpubli:291 is not listed on IDEAS
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Cited by:
  1. Mukherjee, Monobina & Schwabe, Kurt A., 2012. "Valuing Access To Multiple Water Supply Sources In Irrigated Agriculture With A Hedonic Pricing Model," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124604, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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