Economic Evaluation of Limited Irrigation Production Strategies On the Southern High Plains of Texas

Crop production on the Texas High Plains relies on groundwater drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer at rates greater than recharge. Agricultural water policies related to pumpage restrictions in addition to improving water use efficiency are being discussed on the Texas High Plains.  The reality of decreased water availability, whether by aquifer depletion or water district regulations, makes the assessment of economic viability regarding production practices imperative for irrigated crop producers as they weigh options to sustain their operations for the future. 

Dryland production of cotton in the High Plains is economically feasible with approximately 1.8 million acres planted. On the more profitable 2.4 million irrigated acres, the ability to maintain the greater production relies heavily on available groundwater. Irrigated crop rotations have shown potential economic advantages over continuous cotton production in some previous studies.

This study conducted an economic analysis of continuous cotton production versus cotton-grain sorghum rotation with emphasis on irrigation capacity and crop rotation (continuous cotton and cotton-sorghum rotations).  Three field experiments were conducted at the Texas AgriLife Research facility at Halfway, Texas from 2001-2008.  Both production systems were irrigated according to three irrigation strategies.  Water not used in crop production in a given treatment was assigned a value.  Crop value and irrigation cost were normalized to reflect 2008 values. 

Many producers may soon face new management decisions to meet water district regulations and can be assisted by decision tools developed from this study.  This study concluded that under current commodity prices and water cost, continuous cotton production was the more economical crop production system compared with a cotton-sorghum rotation.  Sensitivity analyses and recommendations for alternative cropping systems were also provided.