There were 212,714 farms with 53.1 million irrigated acres, which included 81 million acre-feet of water applied in the United States, according to the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey results, published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In 2018, the irrigation survey results showed that there were 231,474 farms with 55.9 million irrigated acres, which included 83.4 million acre-feet of water. The results show that the number of farms irrigating, the amount of land irrigated, and the total water used for irrigation decreased between 2018 and 2023.
"The 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey, conducted every five years, expands on the data collected in the 2022 Census of Agriculture," said NASS Administrator Joseph L. Parsons. "This report offers detailed, comprehensive, up-to-date information specific to the agriculture industry's use, management, and investment of water supplies and irrigation systems."
The 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey followed up with approximately 35,000 producers who indicated in the 2022 Census of Agriculture that they irrigated or had irrigation equipment. Producers provided information on water sources and amount of water used; acres irrigated by type of system; irrigation use by crop; and system investments and energy costs.
"The 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey data provide valuable information that producers, farm organizations, businesses, state departments of agriculture, elected representatives, and legislative bodies at all levels of government can use to make agriculture water use more efficient," said Parsons. "From comparing water use by application methods or appraising water use trends to developing improved technologies or federal programs, these data are crucial to the industry."
To access the results of the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey click here.