Farm Size, Irrigation Practices & On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency
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Farm Size, Irrigation Practices & On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency
Rhonda Skaggs Agricultural Economics
&Zohrab Samani
Civil Engineering
New Mexico State UniversityLas Cruces, NM
Structure of U.S. Agriculture• Majority of production on few farms
– 8% of farms → 75% of total value of output– Farms with >$250,000 annual sales– Definition of a “farm”?
• 75% of U.S. farms sell less than $50,000 / yr
• Off-farm work• Retirement or residential - lifestyle farms
– 54% of all U.S. farms → 8% of output value
What does this mean?
• Chronic negative net farm incomes for many “farms”
• Agriculture is a “consumption” activity subsidized by off-farm earnings
• Residential – lifestyle farms– Average household income $72,081– Average farm earnings -$4,309
Irrigation in the West
• Urban fringe agriculture in western river valleys
• 92% of consumptive water use• Increased competition for water supplies
– Municipal & Industrial– Environmental
• Increased irrigation efficiency & water marketing?– Technologies or practices (management intensive)– Incentives
Elephant Butte Irrigation District• Doña Ana County, 1974 - 1997
– Irrigated farms increased 70%– 336% increase in 1-9 acre irrigated farms
• Residential, lifestyle, urban fringe agriculture• Dual structure production (e.g., pecans)
• On-farm efficiency on commercial farms88% - 98% alfalfa79% - 94% pecans
This Research
• Relationship between farm size & irrigation practices, efficiency
• Potential responses to technology, conservation incentives & water marketing
• EBID water delivery data (2001)• 340 pecan, 524 alfalfa, 164 cotton accounts
Pecan Farm Size Distribution (2001)
220
67
24 218
0
50
100
150
200
250
2--5 5--10 10--20 20--50 >50Acres
No
. o
f F
arm
s
2001 Pecan Ac-ft vs Acreage
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0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Farm Size (Ac)
Ac-
ft
2001 Pecan Hrs/Ac/Irrigation vs. Farm Size
0
2
4
6
8
10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Acres
Hr/
Ac/
Irri
gat
ion
Pecan Average Hrs/Ac/Irrigation (2001)
1.57
0.97
0.76
0.47
0.30
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
1.40
1.60
1.80
2--5 5--10 10--20 20--50 >50
Acreage (ac)
Hr/
Ac/
Irri
gatio
n
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
Av
era
ge
Ac
re-f
ee
t/A
cre
/Mo
nth
0.0
0.10.2
0.3
0.40.50.6
0.70.80.9
1.0
Maxim
um
Evap
otra
nsp
iratio
n (E
Tm
), Feet
2= ac < 55= ac <1010= ac <20= 20 acETm, ft
Ac-Ft/Ac & ET – by Farm Size
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
Av
era
ge
Ho
urs
/Ac
re/M
on
th
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
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0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
Max
imu
m E
va
po
tran
sp
iratio
n (E
Tm
), Fe
et
2= ac <55= ac <1010= ac <20= 20 acETm, ft
Duration & ET – by Farm Size
Irrigation Duration…
• Hours / acre / irrigation
• Indicator of irrigation efficiency– Deep percolation losses
• Guideline = 0.5 hrs/ac/irrigation
Field Verification1. Highly permeable soils2. Low flows at farm turnout3. Small farm turnouts4. Long, unleveled fields, rough surfaces5. Inadequate infrastructure6. Poorly maintained ditches7. Easements, access, common property disputes
8. Irrigation…≈ Recreation ≈ Lifestyle≈ Tradition ≈ Meditation
Small Farm Irrigator Comments
• Low involvement small farm irrigators…“Nobody else does anything to maintain the ditch, why should I?”
“Nobody wants to spend any money on the ditch.”
• High involvement small farm irrigators…“I’m retired, what else have I got to do?”
“I like to listen to the water.”
Findings…• Overdelivery to small farms
• Underdelivery to large farms
• Delivery losses or on-farm application?
• Small orchard nut production– 161 lbs / acre-foot ($103.04/acre-foot)
• Large orchard nut production– 300 lbs / acre-foot ($185.60/acre-foot)
Conclusions…• “Recreational” irrigators are unlikely to
respond enthusiastically to technology or water marketing incentives.
• Many water users are “paying to play.”
• Irrigation technologies are scale biased.– Management intensity of commercial &
lifestyle farms?
Conclusions…• Irrigator population is very diverse.
– Profit maximizers? – Utility maximizers?– Cost minimizers?
• Marginal efficiency increases on commercial farms are likely to be small & costly.
• Existing irrigation structures were designed for early 20th century agricultural structure.– Reinvestment?
Acknowledgements
Elephant Butte Irrigation District
Rio Grande Basin InitiativeA joint project of TAMU & NMSU
Rhonda Skaggs
Tel: 505-646-2401
Email: [email protected]
Zohrab Samani
Tel: 505-646-2904
Email: [email protected]
Contact Information