Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:34:27.237Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Economic Efficiency of Short-Term Versus Long-Term Water Rights Buyouts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Erin Wheeler
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Bill Golden
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Jeffrey Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Jeffrey Peterson
Affiliation:
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS

Abstract

Because of the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, water districts, regional water managers, and state water officers are becoming increasingly interested in conservation policies. This study evaluates both short-term and long-term water rights buyout policies. This research develops dynamic production functions for the major crops in the Texas Panhandle. The production functions are incorporated into optimal temporal allocation models that project annual producer behavior, crop choices, water use, and aquifer declines over 60 years. Results suggest that long-term buyouts may be more economically efficient than short-term buyouts.

Type
Invited Paper Sessions
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alley, W.M., Reilly, T.E., and Franke, O.L.. Sustainability of Groundwater Resources. USGS Circular 1186. Denver, CO: U.S. Geological Survey, 1999.Google Scholar
Amosson, S., Almas, L., Bretz, F., Gaskins, D., Guerrero, B., Jones, D., Marek, T., New, L., and Simpson, N.. Water Management Strategies for Reducing Irrigation Demands in Region A. Prepared for Agricultural Sub-Committee, Panhandle Water Planning Group. Amarillo, Texas: Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 2005.Google Scholar
Arabiyat, T.S.Agricultural Sustainability in the Texas High Plains: The Role of Advanced Irrigation Technology and Biotechnology.” Unpublished master's thesis, Texas Tech University, 1998.Google Scholar
Brooke, A., Kendrick, D., Meerdus, A., Raman, R., and Rosenthal, R.E.. GAMS: A User's Guide. Washington, DC: GAMS Development Corporation, 1998.Google Scholar
Burt, O.R.Temporal Allocation of Groundwater.” Water Resources Research 1,1(1967):4556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Das, B.Towards a Comprehensive Regional Water Policy Model for the Texas High Plains.” Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2004.Google Scholar
Ding, Y.The Choices of Irrigation Technologies and Groundwater Conservation in the Kansas High Plains: A Dynamic Analysis.” Ph.D. dissertation, Kansas State University, 2005.Google Scholar
Feinerman, E., and Knapp, K.C.. “Benefits from Groundwater Management: Magnitude, Sensitivity, and Distribution.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 65(November 1983):703–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, Y.Optimal Intertemporal Allocation of Ground Water for Irrigation in the Texas High Plains.” Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Tech University, 1992.Google Scholar
Feng, Y., and Segarra, E.. “Forecasting the Use of Irrigation Systems with Transition Probabilities in Texas.Texas Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources 5,1(1992):5966.Google Scholar
Ferejohn, J., and Page, T.. “On the Foundation of Intertemporal Choice.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 60(May 1978):269–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, M.D., Beattie, B.R., and Embleton, M.E.. “A Comparison of Alternative Crop Response Models.American Journal of Agriculture Economics 72(1990):597603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fugile, K., MacDonald, J., and Ball, E.. Productivity Growth in U.S. Agriculture. USDA ERS Economic Brief Number 9. September 2007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerik, T., and Harman, W.. Crop Production and Management Model (CropMan Version 3.2). Temple, TX: Blackland Research Center.Google Scholar
Gisser, M.Groundwater: Focusing on the Real Issue.Journal of Political Economy 91,6(1983):1001–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gisser, M., and Mercado, A.. “Economic Aspects of Ground Water Resources and Replacement Flows in Semiarid Agricultural Areas.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 5,3(August 1973):461–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gisser, M., and Sanchez, D.A.. “Competition Versus Optimal Control in Groundwater Pumping.Water Resource Research 16,4(1980):638–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golden, B.The Value of Water Rights in the Rattlesnake Sub-Basin: A Spatial-Hedonic Analysis.” Ph.D. dissertation, Kansas State University, 2005.Google Scholar
Ise, S., and Sunding, D.L.. “Reallocating Water from Agriculture to the Environment Under a Voluntary Purchase Program.Review of Agricultural Economics 20,1(1998):214–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J.W.Water Conservation Policy Alternatives for the Southern Portion of the Ogallala Aquifer.” Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2003.Google Scholar
Kastens, T.L., Schmidt, J.P., and Dhuyvetter, K.C.. “Yield Models Implied by Traditional Fertilizer Recommendations and a Framework for Including Nontraditional Information.Soil Science Society of America Journal 67(January-February 2003):351–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellison, R. An Integrated Approach to Water Conservation for Agriculture in the Texas Southern High Plains. Texas Alliance for Water Conservation 2nd Annual Report submitted to the Texas Water Development Board under project number 141G-44-B819. Lubbock: College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, April 2007. 2007.Google Scholar
Llewelyn, R.V., and Featherstone, A.M.. “A Comparison of Crop Production Functions Using Simulated Data for Irrigated Corn in Western Kansas.Agricultural Systems 54(1997):521–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, M.R., Gollehon, N.R., and Negri, D.H.. “Alternative Forms for Production Functions of Irrigated Crops.Journal of Agricultural Economics Research 44,3(1992):1632.Google Scholar
National Agricultural Statistics Service. Quick Stats: Agricultural Statistics Data Base, http://www.nass.usda.gov/QuickStats, 1999 and 2006.Google Scholar
Nieswiadomy, M.The Demand for Irrigation Water in the High Plains of Texas, 1957-80. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 67,3(1985):619–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paris, Q.The von Liebig Hypothesis.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74(1992):1020–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, J., and Bernardo, D.. A Review of Economic Analyses of Water Policies and Irrigation Issues in the High Plains:1980-2000. Research Report No. 36. Manhattan: Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Kansas State University, 2003.Google Scholar
Stovall, J.N.Groundwater Modeling for the Southern High Plains.” Ph.D. dissertation, Texas Tech University, 2001.Google Scholar
Supalla, R., Buell, T., and McMullen, B.. “Economic and State Budget Cost of Reducing the Consumptive Use of Irrigation Water in the Platte and Republican Basins.” Unpublished research report prepared by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics, for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, August 2006.Google Scholar
Terrell, B.Economic Impacts of the Depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer: An Application to the Texas High Plains.” Unpublished master's thesis, Texas Tech University, 1998.Google Scholar
Texas Agricultural Extension Service. 2007 Texas Crop and Livestock Budgets. Districts 1 and 2. http://agecoext.tamu.edu/budgets/district/1and2/2007/index.php.Google Scholar
Texas Tech Center for Geospatial Technology. Atlas of the Ogallala Aquifer Program, gis.ttu.edu/ogallalaatlas (Accessed June 15, 2007).Google Scholar
Texas Water Development Board. Analytical Study of the Ogallala Aquifer. Various counties. Report 204. May 1976.Google Scholar
Texas Water Development Board. Survey of Irrigation in Texas. Report 347.August 2001. http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/GroundWaterReports/GWReports/R347.pdf.Google Scholar
Wheeler, E. A.Policy Alternatives for the Southern Ogallala Aquifer: Economic and Hydrologie Implications.” Unpublished master's thesis. Texas Tech University, 2005.Google Scholar