Profitability of irrigation and value of water in Oklahoma and Texas agriculture

ABSTRACT

This article evaluates profitability of irrigated versus non-irrigated agricultural production of major crops (corn, cotton, wheat, soybeans, sorghum) in 2010 (a wet year) and 2011 (an exceptional drought year) in Oklahoma and Texas. It also estimates the economic value of water for agricultural production in both states to answer the question of added value generated with irrigation. Answering those questions is critical in the face of exceptional and severe droughts affecting Oklahoma and Texas in the past decade, in addition to steeply declining groundwater resources in the Ogalalla Aquifer. The results can help with designing mitigation and adaptation measures to water scarcity.

KEYWORDS:

• Water
• irrigation
• agriculture
• profitability
• drought
• Oklahoma
• Texas

Acknowledgment

The author thanks the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their thoughtful and valuable comments, which helped improve this article.