Download or read book Effects of Irrigation Practices on Water Use in the Groundwater Management Districts Within the Kansas High Plains 1991 2003 written by Charles A. Perry and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Irrigation Practices on Water Use in the Groundwater Management Districts Within the Kansas High Plains 1991 2003 written by Charles A. Perry and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Food Energy and Water Nexus written by Chittaranjan Ray and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, major issues surrounding importance of water and energy for food security in the United States and India are described representing two extremes in yield, irrigation efficiency, and automation. The farming systems in these two countries face different risks in terms of climatic shifts and systems’ resiliency to handle the shocks. One may have comparative advantage over the other, but both are susceptible. Innovations in irrigation for food and fuel production, improvements in nitrogen and water use efficiency, and rural sociological issues are discussed here. We also look into some of the unintended consequences of high productivity agriculture in terms of surface and ground water quality and impacts on ecosystem services. Finally, we present ways to move forward to meet the food demands in the next half-century in both countries. As the current world population of 7 billion is expected to reach or exceed 10 billion in the next 40 years, there will be significant additional demand for food. A rising middle class and its preference for a meat-based diet also increases the demand for animal feed. This additional food and feed production needs special considerations in water and energy management besides the development of appropriate crop hybrids to withstand future climatic shifts and other environmental factors. A resilient agricultural landscapes will also be needed to withstand climatic fluctuations, disease pressures, etc. While the upper and many middle income countries have made significant improvements in crop yield due to pressurized irrigation and automation in farming systems, the lower income countries are struggling with yield enhancements due to such limitations. The rise in population is expected to be more in Sub-Sharan Africa and Middle East (Low to middle-income countries) where the crop yields are expected to be low.
Download or read book The Economics of Ecology Exchange and Adaptation written by Donald C. Wood and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-08 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book consists of three sections. The first, concentrating on ecology, further explores the theme of climate change. The second section focuses on exchange transactions and relations in a variety of situations and settings. Finally, papers in the third section share a concern with individual and group adaptations to certain conditions of life.
Download or read book Groundwater Exploitation in the High Plains written by David E. Kromm and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the forty years since the invention of center pivot irrigation, the Nigh Plains aquifer system has been depleted at an astonishing rate. Is the region now in danger of becoming the Great American Desert? In this volume eleven of the most knowledgeable scholars and water professionals in the Great Plains insightfully examine the dilemmas of groundwater use. They address both the technical problems and the politics of water management, providing a badly needed analysis of the implications of large-scale irrigation.
Download or read book An Economic Impact Analysis of a Proposed Local Enhanced Management Area for Groundwater Management District 4 written by Kellen Liebsch and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Kansas, and specifically western Kansas, are known by many to be the backbone of agriculture in our nation, much of that productivity has been built on the heels of the invention and efficiency of irrigation technology. Unfortunately, recharge and replenishment of the High Plains - Ogallala Aquifer has not kept pace with the demands of agricultural production, and current indications state that without the implementation of conservation or management practices that the aquifer in Kansas could be depleted by 2060 (Steward, et al. 2013). The producers of Kansas are committed to long-term solutions to preserve their way of life, espouse their commitment to natural resources and the environment, and ensure the viability of their operations for years to come. This study analyzed the economic impact of a proposed Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) for Groundwater Management District (GMD) #4. While there currently is a LEMA in a portion of GMD #4 known as the Sheridan 6 LEMA, the board of GMD #4 has initiated the process to institute a district-wide LEMA that would affect a large portion of the 10-county area of the groundwater management district (Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Graham, Wallace, Logan, and Gove Counties). To complete the analysis for the proposed policy change, multiple scenarios were derived using the IMPLAN software. The first model serves as the baseline scenario and provides status quo information on the current irrigated cropping economics of GMD #4. The second scenario assumes that a district-wide LEMA would require a 25% reduction in groundwater use, compared to current irrigation practices. To achieve this reduction in groundwater use, irrigated acreage was reduced by 25% and transitioned to dryland production. For the third and final scenario, an optimal irrigated crop-mix ratio is determined based on the current shift in production as reported by the producers in the Sheridan 6 LEMA. While this scenario does not reduce irrigated acres, it shows the economic gains that can be captured by using less water-intensive crops as part of the crop-mix ratio. The reduction in irrigation is also imbedded in that the acreage in which production is shifted away from is more water intensive towards acreage that is less water-intensive. Due to a reduction in groundwater use for irrigation, the study determined that there is a negative economic impact in relation to employment and total output in the GMD #4 area. There are 173 less individuals employed from the 25% reduction in groundwater use. Additionally, direct output is reduced by $44.6 million and total output is reduced by $60.0 million. This equates to a $194.49 reduction per acre on a per-acre basis. The study further showed that the economic impact could be lessened by the use of a crop-mix shift as evidenced in the current Sheridan 6 LEMA. The assessment of a crop-mix shift decreased the loss of direct output by $12.0 million to $265.0 million and total output by $16.5 million to $357.1 million. On a per-acre basis, this is a reduction of $140.97, or mitigation of $53.52 in loss per acre due to the use of an optimal crop-mix shift. While agricultural production is highly dependent on many factors, it can be universally agreed that the landscape of agriculture would be different if water was not an available resource. It is the hope that this research will provide a starting point for the producers of GMD #4 to have a conversation about the economic costs associated with the implementation of a LEMA, as well as discuss other options and opportunities to make educated, well-informed decisions that are impactful both now and for generations to come.
Download or read book Three Essays on the Economics of Groundwater Extraction for Agriculture written by Lisa Marie Pfeiffer and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Economic and Technical Adjustments in Irrigation Due to Declining Ground Water written by William M. Crosswhite and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Irrigation Practices on Water Use in the Groundwater Management Districts U S Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006 5069 2006 written by and published by . This book was released on 2006* with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Essays on the Economics of Groundwater Depletion and Management in Irrigated Agriculture written by Gabriela Perez-Quesada and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The depletion of groundwater stocks reduces the flow of economic value and the production of goods from the resource. This dissertation quantifies these effects in the context of the High Plains Aquifer in the central US. One particular challenge in estimating these effects that we overcome is that feedback effects from irrigation behavior affect resource conditions, which creates an endogeneity concern. We also provide new insights on the potential of collective efforts by irrigators to manage the resource. We study how heterogeneity in resource and user characteristics affect their individuals' willingness to support efforts to collectively reduce water use. The first chapter estimates how changes in groundwater stocks affect the returns to agricultural land. We avoid bias from feedback effects by exploiting hydrologic variation in pre-development saturated thickness that was determined by natural processes in previous geological eras. Simulation results reveal that the average annual present value of returns to land are expected to decrease in the High Plains region by $120.6 million in 2050, and by $250.5 million in 2100. The most severe decreases in returns to land are expected to occur in Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. When the initial saturated thickness is less than 70 feet, most of the economic impact (63%) of a decrease in the stock of groundwater occurs through an adjustment in irrigated acreage (extensive margin), while 37% occurs through reduced irrigated rental rates (intensive margin). When saturated thickness is larger, nearly all of the response is at the extensive margin. The second chapter examines how observed differences in the stock of groundwater affect corn production. To account for the endogeneity of groundwater stock, we exploit variation in current saturated thickness due to variation in pre-development saturated thickness. Simulation results reveal that the annual production of corn would decrease by 48.1 million bushels in the north portion of the High Plains Aquifer due to a uniform 10 ft decrease in saturated thickness, whereas the annual production of corn would decrease by 15.7 million bushels in the south. Further, we find that when initial saturated thickness is less than 70 ft, most of the impact on corn production of a decrease in the stock of groundwater occurs through an adjustment in irrigated acres in both the north and the south. When saturated thickness is larger than 70 ft, then the adjustment is mostly through a change in cropping patterns on irrigated land in the south but still through irrigated acres in the north. The third chapter uses unique data obtained from consequential stated preference surveys in Kansas to explore the factors that influence farmers preferred reductions in groundwater use through a water conservation program implemented by a Groundwater Management District. Our results reveal that farmers located in areas where the aquifer is more depleted support larger reductions in groundwater use. But we also find that characteristics of the users matter as much or more than the status of the aquifer in determining support. Opposition to reductions in water use are strongest among farmers who strongly agree that water rights are a private property, landlords and those who irrigate a larger proportion of their farm. Further, we evaluate farmers' preferences for the methods of assigning water allocations. We find that none of the options are preferred by a majority of farmers and there is no clear evidence that aquifer characteristics or observed farmer characteristics are the key factors affecting the probability that a farmer ranks a method as the best option. This makes it difficult for groundwater managers to identify which method is more likely to be considered fair by farmers. Our results are informative for managers of water throughout Kansas, the High Plains and other regions where conserving water resources is a high priority and localized and stakeholder-driven conservation plans could be a solution.
Download or read book Groundwater Irrigation written by Wendell Holmes and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Can Irrigated Agriculture Survive the Groundwater Crisis written by Joseph B. Summers and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Impact of Discount Rate and Price on Intertemporal Groundwater Models in Southwest Kansas written by Logan Harkey and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agriculture plays a vital role in the growth and development of the High Plains Region of the United States. Historically, early settlers in the semi-arid region were plagued by crop failures largely due to drought; however, affordable irrigation technology aided in the transformation of the High Plains into one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world (Peterson et al., 2003). The primary source of irrigation in this region is the Ogallala Aquifer. Spanning approximately 174,000 square miles, the aquifer lies under parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota (Alley et al., 1999). Currently, water from the aquifer is being used at a much faster rate than natural recharge can occur, resulting in a high rate of depletion from this finite resource. Depletion of scarce water resources will have a significant economic impact on the long term sustainability of the region. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact alternative prices and discount rates have on groundwater policy recommendations. Deterministic models of groundwater withdrawals were developed and used in order to analyze and evaluate the impact of high, average, and low crop prices in a status quo scenario as well as a policy scenario reducing irrigated acreage allocation. Furthermore, this study analyzes the effects and associated consequences of alternative discount rates on net and total revenue. As indicated by results of this study, alternative prices, costs, and discount rates utilized in a model have an effect on the resulting policy recommendations. These assumptions play a significant role in determining what measures of groundwater policy should be implemented. Considering the declining levels of saturated thickness seen in the results of this study, the analysis of alternative discount rates and the associated policy recommendations is merited.
Download or read book Colorado High Plains Irrigation Practices Guide written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Kansas Groundwater Management Districts written by John C. Peck and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kansas enacted enabling legislation in 1972 to permit creation of groundwater management districts (GMDs), which would have some degree of autonomy for local management and control, but would be subject to basic statewide water law doctrine. Five GMDs were created in western and south-central Kansas, the areas where the High Plains and Equus Beds Aquifers are located. The article first explores potential constitutional infirmities with the legislation and concludes that one potential problem area exists - when an intensive groundwater use control area (IGUCA) is designated in a serious problem area, the legislation permits reducing the annual quantity of water right appropriation right, which might be seen as an unconstitutional “taking” of property in that water rights are expressly defined under Kansas water law as “real property interests.” Other matters covered by the article are questions of participation of GMD in lawsuits, the relationship of GMDs to the state Chief Engineer, and an analysis of several rules and regulations including those on depletion and safe-yield.
Download or read book Kansas Ground Water written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of High Commodity Prices on Western Kansas Crop Patterns and the Ogallala Aquifer written by Matthew Ken Clark and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The expansion of the biofuels industry, world demand, and various other factors are having a historic impact on the price of grains. These high prices have been creating a large increase in production of many water intensive crops such as corn. As corn is among the most input-intensive crops, this extra production has raised concerns about environmental impacts and pressures on water resources in particular. While water quality has been a longstanding concern in the cornbelt, much of the new production is in nontraditional corn regions including the southeast, the High Plains, and the western states. In these areas, there is mounting concern over depletion of already stressed water supplies. In the High Plains, the chief water source is the Ogallala aquifer, one of the largest water resources in the world that underlies eight states from South Dakota to Texas. The Ogallala has enabled many agricultural industries, such as irrigated crops, cattle feeding, and meat processing, to establish themselves in areas that would not be possible otherwise. A consequence is that the economy of this region has become dependent on groundwater availability. Continued overdrafts of the aquifer have caused a long-term drop in water levels and some areas have now reached effective depletion. This thesis seeks to estimate the impact of the rising commodity prices on groundwater consumption and cropping patterns in the Kansas portion of the Ogallala. The economy of this region is particularly dependent on water and irrigated crops, with more than 3 million head of feeder cattle and irrigated crop revenues exceeding $600 million annually. Sheridan (northwestern Kansas), Seward (southwestern Kansas), and Scott (west central Kansas) counties have been selected as representative case study regions. These counties have a wide range of aquifer levels with Seward having an abundant supply, Sheridan an intermediate supply, and Scott nearing effective depletion. Cropping patterns in these counties are typical of the western Kansas region, with most irrigated acreage being planted to corn and with dominant nonirrigated rotations of wheat-fallow and wheat-sorghum-fallow. A Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model was developed and calibrated to land- and water-use data in the case counties for a base period of 1999-2003. The PMP approach produces a constrained nonlinear optimization model that mimics the land- and water- allocation decision facing producers each year. The choice variables in the model are the acreages planted to each of the major crops and the water use by crop. The model was run for each of the case counties. The PMP calibration procedure ensures that the model solutions fall within a small tolerance of the base period observations. Once calibrated, the models were executed to simulate the impacts of the emerging energy demand for crops over a 60-year period. After the baseline projections were found, the model was then run under increased crop prices that reflect the higher prices observed in 2006 and after. The thesis found that under the high price scenario, both irrigated crop production and water application per acre increased significantly during the early years of the simulated period in all modeled counties. The size of the increases depended on the amount of original water available in each county. The increases generally diminished in magnitude toward the end of the simulation period, but led to smaller ending levels of saturated thickness as compared to the base price in all counties. Finally, in two of the three counties, it was observed that initial increases in irrigated crop acres and water application forces a decline in the aquifer such that less water can be applied per acre in the final years of the simulation. This suggests that high commodity prices forces a higher emphasis on early production levels than later production levels. Additionally, the higher prices have a significant effect on the rate of decline of the Ogallala aquifer.
