Gilda Jackson sits in her utility vehicle on a 35-acre pasture that is usually filled with 3-feet tall hay on her property in Paradise, Texas, Monday, Aug. 21, 2022. Many farmers, including Jackson, might see a benefit in the next 50 years from installing irrigation infrastructure.
That’s if they even can. Some places in the U.S. are already struggling with groundwater depletion, such as California, Arizona, Nebraska and other parts of the central Plains.“There’s no surprise that in the future when it gets hotter and there’s more demand for water, people are going to be using more water,” said Jonathan Winter, an associate professor of geography at Dartmouth College and an author on a new study on future U.S.
But if the system boosts yields and provides a return of $50 an acre or more, it can pay off well for a farmer, said Brady Brewer, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. Brewer hasn’t seen much increased interest in irrigation from Midwest farmers yet. So far, a surplus of water has been the bigger issue in many places, but if yields start showing losses in the coming years due to worsening heat and flash droughts, “that’s when farmers will invest,” he said.They could choose different crops with different water needs from season to season or be compensated for fallowing fields in times of water stress.