(Selected research findings from FY 25)
Most large irrigation organizations use direct metering of water deliveries; pricing methods vary across different sized organizations
Irrigation delivery organizations play an important role in the agricultural sector, particularly in the Western United States, where nearly half of all water applied as irrigation comes from an off-farm source. These organizations manage and operate extensive water storage and conveyance infrastructure to divert, store, and deliver water to support irrigated agricultural production. Accurate and timely water measurement allows organizations to track water flows and deliveries and detect sources of water loss within their systems, while differing water delivery pricing approaches can help facilitate on-farm water conservation efforts. This report uses data from the 2019 Survey of Irrigation Organizations to characterize the state of water measurement and pricing practices among organizations delivering water to farms and ranches.
Decision making to allocate water among different uses is informed by an understanding of the value of water
Water plays multiple critical roles: it sustains agriculture, industry, and human communities as well as the natural environment, and it provides recreation opportunities and other ecosystem services. However, using and allocating water across competing demands involves tradeoffs. This report reviews the issues associated with understanding the economic value of water for agriculture and environmental uses. Water markets can allocate water to its highest valued use, yet prices may not reflect the full value across all uses, and water markets don’t exist in all regions of the United States.
Adoption rates of key soil health and conservation practices on cropland varied by practice, region, and over time
Soil health and conservation practices have the potential to benefit society and agricultural producers through improved soil health, water quality, and agricultural productivity. This report describes the complexity of producer decision making with respect to soil health and conservation practices and provides insights into the rates of adoption and profitability of key practices in U.S. crop agriculture. For instance, reducing tillage intensity can reduce input costs, but net profitability varies. Analysis also shows that adoption of conservation tillage has increased over time, but the adoption of no-till alone has slowed for some crops. Cover crop adoption remains low but is increasing in many regions, although many farmers are not consistent in their use. Cover cropping is also associated with less tillage and later nitrogen application.
Assets vary for different types of irrigation organizations, with irrigation districts having a larger proportion of assets in infrastructure
Irrigation organizations are formed to coordinate the construction and maintenance of water storage and delivery infrastructure as well as to manage groundwater extraction. This report is the sixth and final in the series based on USDA’s 2019 Survey of Irrigation Organizations and examines differences in scale, voting practices, asset composition, and assessments between organization types. Some organizations—such as unincorporated mutual organizations—tend to be smaller in terms of assets, total farm acres served, and size of farms served. They also source less water from State and Federal water projects. In contrast, irrigation districts tend to be larger, include larger farms, and more often have elected boards of representatives rather than direct voting on issues.
Global production and trade volumes in fertilizer increased from 2006 and 2022, while U.S. shares of production, imports, and exports each declined by 25 percent in the same period
U.S. fertilizer production and consumption—crucial for the productivity of U.S. agriculture—occur within a global fertilizer market. While global production and trade in fertilizer have increased, the U.S. share of world fertilizer production, imports, and exports has declined by 25 percent or more since 2006. This study examines U.S. fertilizer production, consumption, and trade from 2006 to 2023. Between 2006 and 2022, global fertilizer production grew by 27.4 percent and global trade by 18.8 percent. In contrast, U.S. fertilizer production declined by 5.1 percent, driven by a 10.3 million-metric-ton reduction in phosphate production. Over this period, the composition of U.S. fertilizer shifted. In 2006, phosphate dominated U.S. production and exports, but by 2022, nitrogen had become the leading component. Subsequent shifts in fertilizer prices affected many crops, particularly corn and wheat, where fertilizer accounted for more than 40 percent of operating costs in 2022.