Irrigation shifts toward sprinklers, drip and microsprinklers

Edinger-Marshall, Susan; Letey, J.

doi:10.3733/ca.v051n03p38

Cited by 4 publications

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“…In years when surface water deliveries dropped to about 3-million acre-feet, growers reduced harvested acreage rather than to pump more ground water. 1989199019911992199319941995199619971998Years: 1989-1998 Harvested Acres (x 1,000)…”

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Forest Management

2007

Encyclopedia of Environment and Society

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Senate Bill 282 (Kelley 1999) directs the California Energy Commission to send a report to the State Legislature on agricultural electricity usage in California. The report is to analyze daily and seasonal usage patterns, compare agricultural rates among utilities in the Western U.S., examine the effects of restructuring on agriculture, and analyze strategies for reducing electricity costs incurred by agricultural customers. This report addresses those issues, with an emphasis on going-forward policies and strategies that affect agriculture. Due to the turmoil in California's electricity industry, the economic analysis of rates and energy costs can not be done in a timely fashion that is useful to the Legislature. However, the analytic tools developed here can be used to assess different policy options once some semblance of stability has returned to the industry. During this crisis, the state can consider the proposals made here to mitigate the impacts on agriculture. California's agricultural sector represents a significant part of the state's economy, responsible for approximately 8 percent of gross state product (GSP). Agricultural production is dependent on access to water, either from surface supplies (e.g., the State Water Project), or pumped from underground aquifers. Moving water around-to irrigate fields, pump groundwater, water stock, or as part of food processing-requires energy. Ninety percent of electricity used by agriculture is associated with water use. As a result, energy can represent a significant portion of agricultural production costs. For agriculture, energy costs are rising rapidly now and could have an even more significant impact this coming summer. Natural gas costs that have increased tenfold from last winter and the recent rolling outages are now impacting these products: • Dairy farmers with outages that force them to dump milk; • Citrus growers fighting frost with wind machines and field heaters; and • Greenhouse operators in the state's important nursery and floral industries who must supplement heating in their facilities. This summer, state policy, as embodied in the CALFED and related processes, likely will reduce surface water supplies available to agriculture, and encouraging greater

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Forest Management

2007

Encyclopedia of Environment and Society

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Survey of Irrigation Methods in California in 2001

Orang

Matyac

Snyder

2008

J. Irrig. Drain Eng.

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Reliable information on irrigation methods is important for determining agricultural water demand trends. Therefore, a study was conducted during 2002 to collect information on irrigation methods that were used by growers to irrigate their crops in 2001. The results were compared to earlier surveys to assess trends in cropping and irrigation methods. A one-page questionnaire was developed to collect information on irrigated land by crop and irrigation methods. The questionnaire was mailed to 10,000 growers in California that were randomly selected from a list of 58,000 growers by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, excluding rice, dry-land, and livestock producers. From 1972 to 2002, the area planted has increased from 15 to 31% for orchards and from 6 to 16% for vineyards. The area planted to vegetables has remained relatively static, while that planted to field crops has declined from 67 to 42% of the irrigated area. The land irrigated by low-volume ͑drip and microsprinkler͒ irrigation has increased by about 33%, while the amount of land irrigated by surface methods has decreased by about 31%. Sprinkler usage has decreased in orchards and vineyards, but it has increased in vegetable crops.

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