|
Progress in protecting water resources is not a trend that is limited to cotton production – it is part of an overall improvement resulting from modern agricultural practices applied to many crops. The following bullet points apply to U.S. agriculture in general, but cotton is part of the overall positive trends cited below, from information supplied by the USDA, National Resource Conservation Service.
Recent Trends in Agricultural Water Management1
- More than 50 percent of the benefits from improved irrigation water management are off-site benefits and are accrued by the public.
- Improvements on irrigated acres between 1998 and 2003 have resulted in reduced water use on 18.5 million acres, improved crop yield on 18.7 million acres and decreased energy cost on 15.3 million acres.
- The U.S. Geological Survey reports the average irrigation application rate decreased from 42.6 acre-inches per acre in 1950 to 29.8 acre-inches in 2000.
- USDA Farm and Ranch Irrigation survey reports that $1.13 billion was invested in irrigation equipment, facilities, and improvements during 2003. This represents an average investment of $13,056 per farm with 73 percent of this total for irrigation equipment and machinery.
Recent Trends in Agricultural Water Quality2
- The quality of water reflects what occurs on the land.
- Six million acres of buffers help protect the water quality in the United States.
- ERS research reports links between improved management and observable changes in water quality may take 10 years before long-term changes are distinguishable from short-term fluctuations.
- The application of conservation practices for water quality benefits often provides a greater benefit to society than to the individual farmer.
- Erosion rates on cropland have dropped significantly in the last 20 years.
- Research indicates erosion reductions on private lands over the period 1982 to 1992 produced benefits to water-based recreation of $373 million.
References:
|
