Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators: Water Use and Pricing in Agriculture
Noel Gollehon, William Quinby, and Marcel Aillery
No. (AH722) ,
April 2002
Irrigated agriculture remains the dominant use of fresh water in the United States, although irrigation’s share of total consumptive use is declining. National irrigated cropland area has expanded over 40 percent since 1969, while field water application rates have declined about 20 percent. The total quantity of irrigation water applied increased about 15 percent since 1969. Nationally, variable irrigation water costs for groundwater averaged $32 per acre and off-farm surface water about $41 per acre. Neither reflects the full costs of water; onfarm well and equipment costs can be substantial for groundwater access, while infrastructure costs are often subsidized for publicly developed, off-farm surface water.
Keywords: agricultural economics, irrigation, water withdrawals, consumptive use, water consumption, irrigation rates, application rates, water prices, water costs, groundwater, fresh water, ERS, USDA
In this series ... Reports are
in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
Chapter 2.1: Water Use and Pricing in Agriculture, 874 kb.
Contents
- Irrigation Withdrawals
- Irrigation Consumptive Use
- Irrigated Land in Farms
- Irrigation Water Application Rates
- Irrigation Water Prices and Costs
- References
See other chapters in the Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators series.
Updated date: April 30, 2002
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