These data were collected using a survey of a sample of farmers in the Willamette Valley. The objective was to estimate a relationship between the decision to irrigate a field (one with an existing irrigation water right), and factors such as land characteristics, climate, current weather, and market prices. The...
This article uses the 2007 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey database developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assess the impact of water scarcity and climate on irrigation decisions for producers of specialty crops, wheat, and forage crops. We estimate an irrigation management model for major crops in the...
In the late 1980s, the U.S. Pacific Northwest potato industry faced a crisis. Potato tuber quality was inadequate to meet the needs of potato processing companies due to a condition called “sugar ends” or “dark ends” in fried tuber
slices. This defect was common in tubers grown on stressed Russet...
A model was developed to simulate winter wheat production on
irrigated farmland similar to that found near Hermiston, Oregon. The
simulated farm is irrigated with a side roll sprinkler system. A well
is located adjacent to the wheat field and the water is delivered by
an electrically powered pump. The...
The research effort described in this report explores the whole question of optimization of irrigation system design, planning and operations. Optimum irrigation practices, in theory, may involve some degree of deficit irrigation (deliberate under-irrigation of crops), hence the focus of this research was the use of deficit irrigation under practical...
The development of the energy crisis has caused the
use of depletable energy resources to be monitored quite
closely in the United States. Within the agricultural
sector, irrigation is a large user of energy, with the
potential of using many times more energy than all other
agricultural field operations. A...
