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A Control Theory Approach to Optimal Irrigation Scheduling in the Oklahoma Panhandle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Thomas R. Harris
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
Harry P. Mapp Jr.
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University

Extract

Climatic conditions in semiarid regions like the Oklahoma Panhandle result in wide fluctuations in rainfall, dryland crop yields, and returns to agricultural producers in the area. Irrigated crop production increases peracre yields and significantly reduces fluctuations in yields and net returns.

Irrigated production of food and fiber in the Oklahoma Panhandle has developed rapidly during the past three decades, increasing from 11,500 to 385,900 acres since 1950 (Schwab). The primary source of irrigation water in the area is the Ogallala Formation, an aquifer underlying much of the Great Plains region. Until the past couple of years, the presence of relatively low cost natural gas led producers to expand irrigated production and apply high levels of water to crops irrigated in the area.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 1980

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