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Water resources are essential for agricultural crop production, especially in semi-arid regions of the nation such as the Texas High Plains. In this region, agriculture is a major economic driver and is also the main water user while withdrawals continue to exceed the small recharge of the primary source of water, the Ogallala Aquifer. Agricultural water con-servation strategies are being considered to limit the decline of scarce resources in the region. Potential water savings and associated implementation costs are typically the primary consid-erations in evaluating strategies. However, the inclusion of a regional economic analysis can change the acceptability of conservation strategies considered. This paper examines the impacts of including regional analysis in evaluating agricultural water conservation strategies in the Panhandle Water Planning Area of Texas.

Advancements in irrigation technology have increased water use efficiency. However, producers can be reluctant to convert to a more efficient irrigation system when the initial investment costs are high. This study examines the economic feasibility of replacing low energy precision application (LEPA) center pivot sprinkler irrigation with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). Specifically, the changes in net investment, variable costs, and total costs related to the conversion of irrigation systems are estimated. Then, these costs are used to evaluate the necessary increase in crop yields with a SDI system under alternative crop scenarios for conversion to be economically feasible.

The Northern High Plains (NHP) of Texas is home to more than a million acres of irrigated crop production. The area is dependent on the Ogallala Aquifer for irrigation water that has a very minimal recharge rate which is leading to diminishing water availability making the adoption of more water efficient irrigation practices such as irrigation scheduling critical to sustaining irrigated agriculture. Corn is by far the largest user of irrigation water in the NHP. The objective of this study was to estimate the value of irrigation scheduling for corn in NHP using three-year data from the “200-12 demonstration” that had both demonstration plots (optimal irrigation scheduling followed) and side-by-side control plots (farmers’ practices followed). Production per acre-inch of irrigation from the demonstration and control plots were compared to estimate the value of irrigation scheduling. Analysis of the data indicated adding irrigation scheduling resulted in a 9.72% increase in corn yield per acre-inch applied, which resulted in a $91.22 per acre increase in net returns. Although results from individual farms varied considerably, the economic advantage of irrigation scheduling decreased over time suggesting that the producers were learning from the demonstration and implementing similar irrigation scheduling practices on their remaining land.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 is considered by many to be the most complicated farm bill in history, requiring both landlords and tenants to make multiple strategic choices and understand a great deal of information. This poster outlines the methods, challenges, and impacts of a successful Extension effort to provide timely educational and technical support to thousands of Texas Panhandle producers facing policy implementation decisions.

Since 2007, the environment for trading futures contracts has changed significantly. In late 2012 graduates of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Master Marketer program were surveyed to assess the degree to which the changing climate of futures and options trading is impacting their confidence in futures markets and their perception of their ability to implement price risk management strategies.