Peer Irrigators and the Choice of Field Management and Water Control Practices for Irrigation in Arkansas

Agronomy

Qiuqiong Huang¹  Victoria Bailey¹  Kent Kovacs¹  Larry J. Krutz²  Christopher Henry³ 

[1] Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA;Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA;Rice Research and Extension Center and Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA;

关键词: technology choice;    social learning;    border irrigation;    precision grading;    cutback irrigation;    deep tillage;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agronomy11122473

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

We examined how irrigation techniques in use by family and friends influence the use and share of land utilizing different irrigation techniques by Arkansas producers. A bivariate sample selection model simultaneously estimated how farm characteristics determine the use and explain the share of a farm that utilizes an irrigation technique. We found that the irrigation techniques in use by family and friends do affect the irrigation techniques a producer uses and the share of acres utilizing different irrigation techniques. A producer with a family or friend that uses end-blocking irrigation is 41% more likely to use end-blocking themselves. Having a family or friend who uses pivot irrigation technology tends to decrease the share of irrigated acres that utilizes end block irrigation by 0.211. We also found that when the irrigation techniques in use by family and friends interact with variables such as location and participation in a regional conservation partnership program, the effects on the producer’s decision vary. The share of irrigated acres that use cutback irrigation decreases by 0.21 for a producer who has a peer that uses irrigation scheduling. However, if the producer lives along Crowley’s Ridge and has a peer that uses irrigation scheduling, the share of irrigated acres that use cutback irrigation decreases by an additional 0.54.

【 授权许可】

Unknown