Wonder

Irrigation Systems in the U.S.

Delivered May 5, 2020. Contributor: Dorcas K.

Goals

To identify the areas where irrigation is conducted most in the U.S. This will inform a marketing research. 

Early Findings

Irrigation in the U.S. The latest Census of Agriculture that was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
 revealed that the U.S. had a total of 55.8 million acres of irrigated cropland in 2012. 
Agriculture is a major consumer of surface and groundwater in the U.S. 
It accounts for about 80% of the country's consumptive water use.
This value is above 90% in most Western States.
Since the 1997 Census of Agriculture, the major pattern of increased irrigated land in the U.S. shows a shift from the Western States to the Delta and Southeast (except for Florida). 
 Atlases released by the USDA and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reveal that most of U.S. crop irrigation occurs in:
"The Columbia and Snake River Basins found in the Pacific Northwest". 
"The Mississippi Delta region". 
"The High Plains Ogallala region". 
"The Californa Central Valley". 
In the U.S., crop irrigation is dynamic. Irrigated area differs with time due to various factors. These are local or regional water supply/demand and agronomic conditions, climate change, and export/domestic crop market demands. 
The 13 states that lead in irrigation in the U.S. from the highest to the lowest are:
Nebraska with 8.3 million acres -(14.9%).
California with 7.9 million acres -(14.1%).
Arkansas with 4.8 million acres -(8.6%). 
Texas with 4.5 million acres -(8.0%). 
 Idaho -(6.0%). 
 Kansas -(5.2%).  
 Colorado -(4.5%). 
 Montana -(3.4%).  
 Mississippi -(3.0%). 
 Washington -(2.9%). 
 Oregon -(2.9%). 
 Florida -(2.7%).  
This data is based on 2012 from the latest Census of Agriculture that was conducted by the USDA's Economic Research Service.
Data from the USDA reveals that these top 13 states make up for 78.8% of the total irrigated acres in the country while the remaining 37 states make up for the remaining 21.2%. 

Proposed next steps:

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Since the initial research identified the states that have the most irrigation, we are suggesting further research that provides 3-5 irrigation technology advances in the U.S. This is any new technology that has been developed in the past two years in the U.S., maybe due to environmental changes. For each, we will provide extensive information surrounding why it was developed, what problem (s) it was designed to solve, how it has helped with irrigation and crop production, and 1-2 instances of how it is being used in specific farms.

We can also identify 3-5 irrigation systems that are used in the U.S. For each system, we will provide a 5-7 description, where it is most commonly used (2-3 places), the crops that are in most cases grown using the system, and common challenges that come with its usage.