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Estimating the demand for irrigation water in a humid climate: A case study from the southeastern United States

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  • Mullen, Jeffrey D.
  • Yu, Yingzhuo
  • Hoogenboom, Gerrit

Abstract

The southeastern United States typically receives more than 130cm of precipitation per year. In this region, as in others around the world, irrigation is used as a supplement to rainfall. Over the past thirty years the number of hectares under irrigation in the region has grown considerably, as has population. Policy makers are currently searching for effective tools to address water demand. This study tests the effect of water costs, crop prices and technology on the multiple crop production decision using supplemental irrigation. Results for Georgia row crop producers indicate water demand is modestly affected by water price (with elasticities between -0.01 and -0.17), but more so by crop price (with elasticities between 0.5 and 0.82). Results also suggest adoption of lower pressure irrigation systems does not necessarily lead to lower water application rates on corn, cotton, peanuts, and soybeans.

Suggested Citation

  • Mullen, Jeffrey D. & Yu, Yingzhuo & Hoogenboom, Gerrit, 2009. "Estimating the demand for irrigation water in a humid climate: A case study from the southeastern United States," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(10), pages 1421-1428, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:96:y:2009:i:10:p:1421-1428
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    2. Salazar, M.R. & Hook, J.E. & Garcia y Garcia, A. & Paz, J.O. & Chaves, B. & Hoogenboom, G., 2012. "Estimating irrigation water use for maize in the Southeastern USA: A modeling approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 104-111.
    3. Rajapaksha P. D. Gunathilaka & James C. R. Smart & Christopher M. Fleming & Syezlin Hasan, 2018. "The impact of climate change on labour demand in the plantation sector: the case of tea production in Sri Lanka," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 62(3), pages 480-500, July.
    4. Zhang, Bangbang & Feng, Gary & Kong, Xiangbin & Lal, Rattan & Ouyang, Ying & Adeli, Ardeshir & Jenkins, Johnie N., 2016. "Simulating yield potential by irrigation and yield gap of rainfed soybean using APEX model in a humid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 440-453.
    5. Mullen, Jeffrey D., 2011. "Statewide Water Planning: The Georgia Experience," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 357-366, August.
    6. Boyer, Christopher N. & Larson, James A. & Roberts, Roland K. & McClure, Angela T. & Tyler, Donald D., 2014. "The impact of field size and energy cost on the profitability of supplemental corn irrigation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 61-69.
    7. Liu, H.L. & Yang, J.Y. & Tan, C.S. & Drury, C.F. & Reynolds, W.D. & Zhang, T.Q. & Bai, Y.L. & Jin, J. & He, P. & Hoogenboom, G., 2011. "Simulating water content, crop yield and nitrate-N loss under free and controlled tile drainage with subsurface irrigation using the DSSAT model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(6), pages 1105-1111, April.
    8. Zhang, Bangbang & Feng, Gary & Ahuja, Lajpat R. & Kong, Xiangbin & Ouyang, Ying & Adeli, Ardeshir & Jenkins, Johnie N., 2018. "Soybean crop-water production functions in a humid region across years and soils determined with APEX model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 180-191.
    9. Sukcharoen, Kunlapath & Golden, Bill & Vestal, Mallory & Guerrero, Bridget, 2020. "Do crop price expectations matter? An analysis of groundwater pumping decisions in Western Kansas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    10. Silva, Felipe & Perrin, Richard K. & Fulginiti, Lilyan E. & Schoengold, Karina, 2017. "The Effects of Irrigation and Climate on the High Plains Aquifer: An econometric analysis of groundwater levels and irrigation behavior," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 259183, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    11. Hrozencik, Aaron & Aillery, Marcel, 2021. "Trends in U.S. Irrigated Agriculture: Increasing Resilience Under Water Supply Scarcity," Economic Information Bulletin 327359, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Boyer, Christopher N. & Larson, James A. & Roberts, Roland K. & McClure, Angela T. & Tyler, Donald D. & Smith, S. Aaron, 2014. "Probability of Irrigated Corn Being Profitable in a Humid Region," 2014 Annual Meeting, February 1-4, 2014, Dallas, Texas 162470, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    13. Hamze, Mohamad & Cheviron, Bruno & Baghdadi, Nicolas & Lo, Madiop & Courault, Dominique & Zribi, Mehrez, 2023. "Detection of irrigation dates and amounts on maize plots from the integration of Sentinel-2 derived Leaf Area Index values in the Optirrig crop model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    14. Cai, Ruohong & Mullen, Jeffrey D. & Bergstrom, John C., 2010. "Irrigated Acreage Projections in Georgia," 2010 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2010, Orlando, Florida 56468, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    15. Gibson, Katherine E.B. & Yang, Haishun S. & Franz, Trenton & Eisenhauer, Dean & Gates, John B. & Nasta, Paolo & Farmaha, Bhupinder S. & Grassini, Patricio, 2018. "Assessing explanatory factors for variation in on-farm irrigation in US maize-soybean systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 34-40.
    16. Liu, Yangxuan & Snider, John L. & Bhattarai, Anukul & Collins, Guy, 2022. "Economic penalties associated with irrigation during high rainfall years in the southeastern United States," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    17. Hrozencik, Aaron & Aillery, Marcel, 2021. "Trends in U.S. Irrigated Agriculture: Increasing Resilience Under Water Supply Scarcity," USDA Miscellaneous 316792, United States Department of Agriculture.
    18. Lee, Gi-Eu & Rollins, Kimberly S. & Singletary, Loretta, 2018. "Farm-level Cropping Decision and Irrigation Water Use under Both Institutional and Hydrological Constraints," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274321, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Tsigkou, Stavroula & Messer, Kent D. & Kecinski, Maik & Li, Tongzhe, 2021. "The impact of nontraditional irrigation water on consumers’ perception of food and non-food items: A field experiment in the United States," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313940, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Levan Elbakidze & Brett Schiller & R. Garth Taylor, 2017. "Estimation of Short and Long Run Derived Irrigation Water Demands and Elasticities," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 3(01), pages 1-22, January.
    21. Lee, Gi-Eu & Rollins, Kimberly S. & Singletary, Loretta, 2017. "An Empirical Analysis of Water Allocation Efficiency through the Prior Appropriation Doctrine: A Case Study in the Carson River Valley, Nevada," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258225, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    22. Finger, Robert, 2012. "Modeling the sensitivity of agricultural water use to price variability and climate change—An application to Swiss maize production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 135-143.

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