Information about water use and best practices during drought.
This peer-reviewed fact sheet from Utah State University Extension summarizes a statewide survey of surface irrigators, highlighting current practices, barriers, and opportunities for water optimization in Utah agriculture. It emphasizes the importance of...
This article is a summary of several estimates of the extent of agricultural irrigation in Utah and some associated trends.
This fact sheet provides information about the following topics in the context of the Great Salt Lake and its basin: Great Salt Lake facts, Human effects on the size of the lake, Changes to population and land use, Agricultural water use, Agriculture and ...
As water demand and scarcity increase simultaneously over the coming decades, water managers and growers will need to optimize water use on their irrigated lands. These challenges have been especially noticeable as the Western U.S.faces a prolonged “megad...
Utah’s climate can often be harsh and unpredictable. As the nation’s second driest state, Utah is commonly subject to droughts. Extensive statewide droughts have often lasted 5 to 6 years. It is imperative that farmers are well prepared to defend against ...
Deficit irrigation is any irrigation level that does not meet the crop’s full evapotranspiration (ET) demand, meaning evaporation from plant and soil surface and transpiration through plant growth.
When deciding which irrigation systems to adopt, permit, or promote, it is important to consider how their efficiency and losses affect the water balance of Utah’s watersheds and drainage basins. Irrigators have no control over precipitation and only limi...
Deficit irrigation strategies with varying effectiveness can be employed in many cases to maximize production and profit. These strategies can include modifying irrigation schedules, concentrating irrigation to critical crop growth stages, reducing rates,...
It is important to consider the possible hydrologic impacts of irrigation optimization efforts to avoid implementing practices that have little appreciable effect relative to the desired outcome. Examples of desired outcomes include increasing supply reli...
