One hundred percent of our old family farm was under irrigation. On unirrigated acres, we could only grow a winter cover if we received enough rain to supply water to the barley we used for forage.

Other than that, we irrigated every inch of ground on the farm for cotton, wheat, alfalfa and a few nut trees. The cost of irrigation water increased as time went on. By the time we sold the farm, irrigation water expenses were between $60 to $150 per acre-foot in the county in which we farmed. That was 17 years ago.

The cost has only risen since then.

So, it is with great interest that I hit the irrigation report that USDA published last month. The Irrigation and Water Management Survey results are reported every five years with data compiled through the 2022 Census of Agriculture. So, while the report shows five years of historical data, it does not necessarily reflect current prices or activity.

None the less, the information is interesting.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is reporting that the total amount of water used in 2023 – 81 million acre-feet - is down 2.6% from 2018.

In 2023 farmers irrigated 49.6 million acres of harvested cropland in the U.S.

Ground water from on-farm wells accounted for 54% of irrigation water in open fields, with an average well depth of 241 feet.

Related:Irrigation cutoff decision? ‘It depends’

The state with the largest area of land under irrigation is California, with 8,711,690 acres. Given the state’s huge ag production, with less rain than most states, it’s not that big of a surprise. However, the surprise to me is the number of irrigated acres in Nebraska, on the heels of California, at 8,447,188. Texas comes in at third place with 5,145,985 acres.

But the Midsouth is not far behind. Arkansas has 4,990,727 irrigated acres of farmland. Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nebraska and Texas accounted for about one half of those irrigated acres, and more than half of all water applied, according to the NASS report

Louisiana stands at 1,538,092 acres, Mississippi at 2,050,818 acres, Missouri at 1,464,118 acres and Tennessee at 224,857 acres.

Sprinkler systems accounted for 12.6 million more acres of irrigated water across the U.S. than gravity irrigation.

Three billion dollars was spent on irrigation equipment, facilities, land improvements and computer technology by farmers and ranchers, while energy costs for pumping well and surface water amounted to $3.3 billion.

Of course, the efficiency of ag irrigation keeps going up.

According to USDA’s Economic Research Service, between 1969 and 2017, the average irrigation application rate declined from more than 2-acre feet per acre irrigated to just under 1.5-acre feet per acre irrigated.

Related:Farmer-driven tread designed for irrigation

A great deal of that efficiency research and application has gone on right here in the Midsouth with help from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and state universities.

To read more about the survey’s results click here.