General Irrigation

• How much U.S. cropland is irrigated? Where is the irrigated land?
• How much water does irrigated agriculture use?
• How do crop sales from irrigated land compare with nonirrigated sales?
• What is the relationship between irrigated crop production and livestock in the West?
• What are the available irrigation technologies and their relative advantages?
  

Characteristics of Western Irrigation by Farm Size

• How important is farm size to irrigated agriculture and water conservation policy goals?
• Do irrigated agriculture values vary across farm size and location?
• How much do irrigation costs vary by farm size?
• Does the adoption of irrigation systems vary by farm size?
• How water conserving (efficient) is irrigated agriculture?
• How widely do gravity-irrigated farms adopt water management practices?
• How do irrigators decide when to apply irrigation water?
• What are the barriers to producers adopting more water-conserving irrigation systems?
• How much do irrigators participate in cost-share programs that encourage farm-level water conservation?
• Is there potential for water-conservation improvement in the West?
  
  

for more information, contact: Noel Gollehon or Glenn Schaible
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: May 24, 2004