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Irrigation in a changing climate: Adapting for the future

As climate change intensifies water shortages, farmers are turning to advanced irrigation technology to maintain productivity and conserve water.

Andy Castillo

October 10, 2024

4 Min Read
Pivot irrigation system on plowed field at sunset
WATER WISE: Nationwide, only about 20% of U.S. farmland is irrigated. And yet, those irrigated acres produce more than half of the country’s total yield.BitsAndSplits/Getty Images

With debate ongoing over water allotments from Western rivers, anticipated water shortages complicate the future outlook for agricultural irrigation. And extreme weather has changed the game for row crop farmers — even those with irrigation systems.

The strategy with irrigation has always been to provide water — and higher yields – when water was hard to come by. But climate change is altering the standard operating procedures. Hard and fast rains lead to flooding, followed by dryer conditions that lead to drought and stressed crops.

So where does irrigation fit in this new reality?

“Climate change affects us in that we need to be very flexible with how we manage water in times of increased and decreased availability,” says Mike Mills, director of sustainability solutions at Reinke. “It also means we look deeper at crop rotations and planting styles regionally, so that we can take advantage when there is an abundance of water and react when there is a reduction in availability.”

Productive droughts

By carefully managing aquifers and crops, farmers can maintain productivity during droughts. This means evolving from outdated irrigation practices, such as overwatering. Thoughtful irrigation that prioritizes quality of water placement over quantity is key, according to Tyler Fields, senior director of Valley water delivery at Valmont Industries.

“People have this mindset that if a little is good, then a lot is better, right? The next thing you know we have all this runoff,” Fields says.

Rather than focusing on how much water is used, a better metric might be the amount of water that’s needed to maximize crop productivity. Focusing more on maximizing crop yield through well-planned irrigation and less on saving water will ultimately reduce usage. Technology has advanced to the point that farmers can irrigate exactly where it’s needed.

“We’re able to show: ‘Here’s where the water is. You don’t need to worry about the top 68 inches of ground. You need to worry about where the root zone is,’” says Jason Parker, director of sales and marketing at Lindsay Corp. “We can let them [farmers] become more efficient at actually putting the water where it needs to go.”

This is enabled by underground moisture and nutrient sensors that can monitor water at the root zone, according to Jim Ed Beach, U.S. commercial lead of sustainable solutions at Netafim USA. Irrigation isn’t an art form anymore — it’s a science.

“We’re not using visual cues anymore to say: ‘I think I need to water.’ We’re using real time measurement, and technology cues that can reduce the amount of water applied,” Beach says. “The crop is happy when the soil is happy. Monitoring soil moisture has become paramount.”

Historic precedence

These practices have already dramatically reduced U.S. farmers’ water usage. In the last 50 years, Mills says that irrigation technology has cut water usage by about 25% while continuing to increase yield.

“You need to look from the macro-perspective,” he says. “Can we produce the food and fiber we need? We need to redefine water use so it’s not about how much water was sprayed, but about how much was required by the crop.”

Nationwide, only about 20% of U.S. farmland is irrigated. And yet, those irrigated acres produce more than half of the country’s total yield. The production pressure is only going to increase as the population balloons.

“That’s a pretty staggering number,” Fields says. “The only way we are going to become more productive moving forward — to feed the next 5 [billion] to 7 billion people — is to be more productive.”

Irrigation’s increasing importance

If water shortages weren’t enough of an incentive, the federal government’s shift toward a more conservation-focused approach to policymaking accelerates tech adoption. Pushed by these drivers, Fields predicts irrigation technology will become paramount on many more farms in coming years.

He says center pivots will become the “center of the farm,” parallel in importance to the tractor — and with a better return on investment.

“The tractor is very important. But maybe, at some point, it might not make more money” than a center pivot, Field says, noting that farmers will eventually be able to calculate exactly how much irrigation increases yield. When technology, policies and water conservation efforts converge, “irrigation is going to become a lot more important than it is today. It will guarantee an increased yield.”

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Irrigation

About the Author

Andy Castillo

Andy Castillo started his career in journalism about a decade ago as a television news cameraperson and producer before transitioning to a regional newspaper covering western Massachusetts, where he wrote about local farming.

Between military deployments with the Air Force and the news, he earned an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Bay Path University, building on the English degree he earned from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He's a multifaceted journalist with a diverse skill set, having previously worked as an EMT and firefighter, a nightclub photographer, caricaturist, features editor at the Greenfield Recorder and a writer for GoNomad Travel. 

Castillo splits his time between the open road and western Massachusetts with his wife, Brianna, a travel nurse who specializes in pediatric oncology, and their rescue pup, Rio. When not attending farm shows, Castillo enjoys playing music, snowboarding, writing, cooking and restoring their 1920 craftsman bungalow.

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