Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Right as rain? The value of water in Willamette Valley agriculture

Público Deposited

Contenido Descargable

Descargar PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/gm80hx894

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Signs of climate change across the Pacific Northwest indicate changing patterns of timing and availability of stream flow. Declining summer low flows, decreasing snow pack, higher temperatures and an increasing fraction of mountain precipitation falling as rain, raise concerns about future reliability of stream flows. These changes will likely affect the agricultural economy and the balance between in stream and agricultural water uses, requiring a better understanding of how climatic factors and access to water affect farmers' livelihoods and the basin's economy. This study focuses on two economic questions about water and agriculture in the Willamette Valley. The first question asks: how sensitive is the value of water - as reflected in farmland rents - to variations in temperature, precipitation, soil quality and elevation? The results of a hedonic analysis provide insights into the potential effects of water scarcity that may result from climate change on economic returns to farmers. The second, related question seeks to understand the factors that affect farmers' decisions to exercise their water rights. Growers in the Willamette Valley do not always use their water rights, a surprising phenomenon compared to other farming regions in the western U.S. The analysis here estimates a logit model of farmers' field-level irrigation decisions. These decisions have quantitatively large implications for the consumptive use of water in the Basin overall. The relatively low estimated values for irrigation water rights (compared to other agricultural regions) reflect these patterns of intermittent use of those water rights. The comparison, however, between the per acre value of an irrigation water right and the incremental value of precipitation suggest that water has a similar value to farmers whether it comes as a right or as rain.
License
Resource Type
Fecha Disponible
Fecha de Emisión
Degree Level
Degree Name
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Subject
Declaración de derechos
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Replaces

Relaciones

Parents:

This work has no parents.

En Collection:

Elementos

Miniatura Título Fecha de subida Visibilidad Acciones
file details KalininAlexeyV2013.pdf 2017-08-07 Público Descargar