Resource depletion and agriculture: The case of groundwater in the Great Plains

Abstract

Abstract Researchers in the sociology of agriculture have increasingly used variables representing the physical environment to assist them in understanding the adoption of agricultural technology by farm operators, the variations that exist in farm structure, and the consequences of changes in the availability of critical natural resources. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research on the consequences of resource depletion in agriculture. To partially fill this void, this article uses a human ecological perspective to empirically examine the farm structure consequences of ground‐water depletion in the Great Plains. It was found that in recent years, declines in the number of acres irrigated have occurred in areas where water resources are limited and have been depleted. In addition, irrigation declines had led to farm structure adaptations such as lower gross farm sales, fewer farms, reduced energy expenditures, and fewer hired farm workers. Additional research on the relationship between resources and...