Economic implications of farmer storage of surface irrigation water in federal projects : El Paso County, Texas

Abstract

The Bureau of Reclamation has approved a program for farmer storage of surface irrigation water in Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico. This program would allow individual farmers to store part of their annual surface water allotment in the reservoir subject to evaporation loss to be drawn at a future date upon request. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the economic implications of such a program for farmers in the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1. The economic analysis was based on results from a linear programming model developed for crop production in El Paso County. The model was designed to maximize net farm revenue. Twelve crops were included in the analysis. The effects of soil type and salinity level of irrigation water on crop yields for all twelve crops were estimated. Input requirements by crop and yield level were identified. Input categories included seed, chemical, water, machinery, labor, harvest, other and fixed costs. Irrigation alternatives included both surface and ground sources. In addition, the water saving technology of laser leveling was incorporated into the model. ...