Economic Feasibility Study of Variable Irrigation of Corn Production in Southeast Coastal Plain

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of variable rate applications (VRA) of irrigation water in corn production. The data were obtained from an experiment conducted at the site-specific center pivot irrigation facility at Florence, SC, INTERNAT, during the 1999-2001 seasons. The field was divided into 396 plots and a water production function was estimated for each plot to determine the optimal amount of irrigation water for each plot. Net returns from VRA applications were compared with uniform applications. The results indicate that the VRA applications yielded larger net returns than the uniform applications. However, the VRT applications require additional equipment and control. The benefits of reduced irrigation water costs plus the value of increased yields must be greater than the additional costs associated with the VRT application. Because the VRT system used in this experiment was built for experimental research purpose, the costs were much higher than those that would have been used for commercial growers. Even for the commercial system, the additional costs of VRT are more than the benefits of using VRT. Thus, at present, the VRT application of irrigation water is not profitable compared to uniform applications for South Carolina. However, the costs of these equipment and controls are declining over time. Furthermore, the costs would be much smaller when VRT is widely adopted by producers and these equipment and controls are mass-produced.