Water in the West: Trends, production efficiency, and a call for open data

• Published in: Journal of environmental management 2022-03, Vol.306, p.114330-114330, Article 114330
• Main Authors: Schumacher, Britta L., Yost, Matt A., Burchfield, Emily K., Allen, Niel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural Irrigation; Agriculture; Climate Change; Data dissemination; Irrigation; USDA Farm and ranch irrigation surveys/irrigation and water management surveys; Water; Water Supply; Water use
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114330

Climate change is projected to transform US agriculture, particularly in places reliant on limited irrigation water resources. As water demand and scarcity increase simultaneously over the coming decades, water managers and growers will need to optimize water use on their irrigated lands. Understanding how growers maintain high yields in arid, water stressed places, while conserving water, is of key importance for the future of US agriculture in the West. We explore water use management and trends in irrigated agriculture in the Western US using operator-level USDA-NASS Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey/Irrigation and Water Management Survey data aggregated for the first time to the county-scale. In this exploration, we build the first county-level, openly accessible dataset linking farm(er) characteristics to irrigation behaviors in the West. We find notable spatial and temporal variability in Western irrigation practices, with neighboring counties exhibiting large differences in efficiency, water use, and crop yields, as well as in the sources of information, scheduling methods, and technological improvements employed. To produce effective management initiatives in the West, we call for the express and open dissemination of USDA irrigation data at sub-state scales. These data will contribute to our understanding of irrigated production and could support a pathway that will prepare growers for a more resilient agricultural future. •Counties with high crop yields do not necessarily utilize water efficiently.•Water applications do not respond dynamically to drought.•Irrigation productivity differs significantly across multiple water use, delivery, and other categories.•Growers report a diversity of information sources, scheduling methods, and barriers and bridges to implementing improvements.•Current publicly available aggregations of USDA irrigation survey data cannot produce effective water management initiatives in the West; we need publicly available aggregations at sub-state scales.