By Chris Canfield
The 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey was published on October 31, 2024. The survey provides information about irrigation and water use across the United States on farms, ranches, and horticultural operations. The survey includes data on farms with irrigation equipment, sizes of farms with irrigation, using recycled or reclaimed water, irrigation use estimates, and more. Survey results are provided at the state level and compared to the previous survey completed in 2018.
Nationwide, the number of irrigated farms decreased from the previous survey, from 58 million acres in 2017 to 54 million in 2022. Pennsylvania has seen an increase in irrigated acres, from 32,139 in 2017 to 44,057 in 2022. The survey estimates that 20,437 acre-feet of water was applied in Pennsylvania in 2023, or approximately 340,352,000 gallons. Pennsylvania's most common irrigation methods are drip, trickle, or low-flow systems, followed by overhead sprinkler systems.
The survey asked farmers to document methods used in deciding when to irrigate. In Pennsylvania, 2,362 farms provided data. Soil moisture sensing devices were used on 130 farms, as reported. The feel of soil was used on 1,341 farms. Reports of daily crop-water evapotranspiration were used on 30 farms, and 41 farmers started irrigation when their neighbors did. The most common method of deciding when to irrigate was the visual condition of the crop, at 2,095 farms reporting.
The full survey report can be found online, along with historical irrigation survey data and other National Agricultural Statistics Service reports and statistics.
Source : psu.edu