Agricultural and Water Use in the West

This thesis presents three separate analyses of irrigator behavior using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (FRIS). One chapter examines descriptive data from the 2003 FRIS for the state of Arizona. Main findings are that irrigation water applications vary significantly by irrigation method and by choice of crop. Also, 25 percent of irrigators account for 97 percent of water use, so programs to encourage adoption of improved irrigation practices and technologies will have a greater impact on overall water use if they target these irrigators. Irrigators who currently account for more than 400,000 acre-feet of irigation applications report that they may discontinue farming. Another chapter uses nonparametric measures of association to examine the relationship between farm size and irrigator behavior using special tabulations from the 1998 FRIS survey. Irrigator use of information, irrigation scheduling methods, investigation of irrigation improvements and participation in conservation programs all vary systematically and significantly with farm size. Finally, 1998 special tabulation data from the 1998 FRIS are used to explain variations across farm size class and state in the adoption of sprinkler irrigation among 17 western states. The extent of sprinkler adoption is greater among very large farms, among farms relying more on groundwater, in areas with more sheet and rill erosion, in areas with more months of freezing weather, and among farms greater pumping costs.

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