Trends and future of agricultural irrigation in Michigan and Indiana

Abstract

AbstractIrrigation plays a critical role in Michigan and Indiana, USA, supporting various crops such as commercial corn, seed corn, soybeans, potatoes, fruit and vegetables. Irrigated lands in Michigan and Indiana have continuously increased over the last 20 years. As Michigan and Indiana have experienced more erratic precipitation and warmer temperatures, more irrigated lands will be projected. This study focused on understanding the changes in irrigation in Michigan and Indiana using USDA NASS data. The observation of changes from 2002 to 2017 helped to identify the critical considerations for developing future irrigation research and extension programmes in Michigan and Indiana. The study found that continuation of the collaboration with stakeholders, including state regulators, government staff, commodity groups, the irrigation industry and farmers, will be important to disseminate the most up‐to‐date irrigation information effectively to farmers. As more new irrigated lands are expected, outreach programmes for the optimal design of irrigation systems for specific crop types should be developed. Moreover, an easy‐to‐use and affordable irrigation scheduling technology is needed to increase the adoption rate of scheduling tools, ultimately improving irrigation water and energy use efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts.