where federal reclamation policy and State investments in irrigation infrastructure have harnessed the region’s surface water resources. Surface water-fed irrigation is most common in the western U.S. ![]() According to the 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey, more than half of all water applied as irrigation came from surface water with the remaining water obtained from groundwater sources. Irrigated agriculture relies on both surface water and groundwater to support crop production. Where irrigation occurs depends on regional cropping patterns, local climatic conditions as well as the availability of surface and groundwater resources.ĭownload higher resolution chart (4167 pixels by 3333, 600 dpi) What Sources of Water Does Irrigated Agriculture Use? Irrigation is also common in the southeastern U.S., particularly along the Mississippi River Valley in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as well as southern Georgia and central Florida. ![]() where the production of many crops requires irrigation. Much of the irrigated land is concentrated in the western U.S. The 2017 Census of Agriculture reported total U.S. Irrigated crop production helps to support local rural economies in many areas of the U.S., and contributes to the Nation’s livestock, food processing, transportation, and energy sectors. crop sales, while irrigated land accounted for less than 20 percent of harvested cropland. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, farms with some form of irrigation accounted for more than 54 percent of the total value of U.S. Irrigation has enhanced both the productivity and profitability of the agricultural sector. Water applied as irrigation allows for crop production in arid regions and supplements soil moisture in humid regions when growing season precipitation is insufficient. Geological Survey report, agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the United States, and irrigation accounted for 42 percent of the Nation’s total freshwater withdrawals in 2015.
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