Irrigation by the numbers

Industry insights | Spring 2020
EDITED BY ANNE BLANKENBILLER
USDA irrigation survey

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service recently reported results gathered from the 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey, formerly called the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey. This survey was sent to a sample of producers who reported irrigation practices on their 2017 Census of Agriculture forms. The following is a snapshot of information gathered in the 2018 survey about U.S. agricultural irrigation.

Source: USDA NASS; surveys were processed and tabulated from 17,177 farms. All data reflect irrigation activity during the 2018 calendar year.
it-icon

RELATED NEWS

ABalancingAct_ITWinter2026-1

A Balancing Act

Deficit irrigation can improve crop quality and conserve water, but requires precise timing, monitoring, and crop-specific knowledge to avoid yield loss.
FromSpaceToField_ITWinter2026 – 1

From space to field

OpenET makes satellite-based evapotranspiration data accessible to growers, enabling precise irrigation scheduling, water savings, and improved crop yields.
RethinkingOnFarmStorage_ITWinter2026-1

Rethinking On-Farm Storage

On-farm reservoirs balance water delivery, improve system efficiency, and capture tailwater—but require strategic design, maintenance, and cost-benefit analysis.