Note: This story is embargoed for republication until Nov. 24, 2019
Efficient irrigation may produce more crops, but it doesn’t appear to preserve groundwater, according to a federal report
Scientists, stakeholders and community members gathered at the Champaign Public Library on Thursday evening for a discussion about increased agricultural irrigation and how it affects the region's water supply.
Increased drought, unsustainable irrigation and changing crop patterns are among the impacts that the agriculture sector will confront as the climate changes, according to a draft federal climate report obtained by The New York Times on Monday.
Almost 1,000 pivots have been installed in counties statewide in the past four years as a result of higher crop prices and the demand of seed corn companies, an almost 20 percent increase in overall irrigation that equals the use of more than half a million people each year.
The drought of 2012 was the worst since at least 1988, spanning the entire Corn Belt, from Ohio to Wyoming, and costing the agribusiness industry billions of dollars.
While Illinois is not currently facing a water crisis, highly populated areas with high growth – namely Chicagoland and Champaign County – are starting to see some levels of water conflict, and agricultural irrigation is playing a major role.
A single pixel in satellite imagery will allow farmers to see exactly how their crops are performing down to a single acre with highly detailed maps. The new methodology will cost farmers an estimated 50 cents per acre per year.
A government report from last month revealed that 40 out of 50 state water managers expect freshwater shortages within the next decade. As a result, farms and other agriculture producers who depend on irrigation may be challenged moving forward. According to federal studies, irrigation withdrawals a
This month, officials from the National Agriculture Statistics Service began distributing irrigation surveys to U.S. farmers and ranchers. The surveys, administered every five years, analyze how agriculture producers use water and how they utilize irrigation. According to the most recent survey, far
