Abstract
In an irrigated multi-crop production system, farmers make decisions on the land allocated to each crop, and the subsequent irrigation water application, which determines the crop yield and irrigation water use efficiency. This study analyzes the effects of the multiple factors on farmers’ decision making and economic irrigation water use efficiency (EIWUE) using a national dataset from the USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey. To better deal with the farm-level data embedded in each state of the U.S., multilevel models are employed, which permit the incorporation of state-level variables in addition to the farm-level factors. The results show higher costs of surface water are not effective in reducing water use, while groundwater costs show a positive association with water use on both corn and soybean farms. The adoption of pressure irrigation systems reduces the soybean water use and increases the soybean yield. A higher EIWUE can be achieved with the adoption of enhanced irrigation systems on both corn and soybean farms. A high temperature promotes more the efficient water use and higher yield, and a high precipitation is associated with lower water application and higher crop yield. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) suggest a moderate variability in water application and EIWUE is accounted by the state-level factors with ICC values greater than 0.10.
Highlights
In many countries, agricultural production relies heavily on water resources [1]
Though a large proportion of water demand could be satisfied through new investments in water supply and irrigation systems, and the expansion of water supply could be met with some non-traditional sources, the shrinking water availability
FRIS)—i.e., farms are embedded in states—we explore the applicability of the MLMs to multiple equations relating to production decisions in irrigated multi-crop agriculture
Summary
Agricultural production relies heavily on water resources [1]. Most of the cropland is irrigated and some traditionally rain-fed agriculture systems have seen growing irrigation to increase production and mitigate climate risks. Accounting for more than 80–90% of the total water withdrawals, irrigated agriculture needs to contribute an increasing share of food production to meet the growing demands of a rising population [2]. Faced with the dramatic impacts of climate change, many arid and semiarid areas are suffering from severe water shortages, for instance, the Western U.S [3] and Northwestern China [4]. Some areas that were not facing water deficiencies are experiencing more, frequent droughts, for instance, the Midwestern U.S [5,6], increasing the stress on current water resources. Though a large proportion of water demand could be satisfied through new investments in water supply and irrigation systems, and the expansion of water supply could be met with some non-traditional sources, the shrinking water availability
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