Irrigation planning: 1. Cropping pattern

Abstract

Irrigation programs, specified in terms of dates and depths of irrigation, are developed for corn, grain sorghum and pinto beans. The information contained in the irrigation programs for each crop is applied in an area‐allocation model to determine a cropping pattern for the three crops. The area‐allocation model is a linear optimization model which maximizes gross margin from yields of crops under consideration subject to total water supply, maximum amount of water that can be delivered for irrigation purposes on any date of irrigation, and irrigation labor. The land area to be allocated to each crop for planting is the decision variable. Results from the area‐allocation model include cropping pattern, gross margin, total irrigation depth on each date of irrigation, total irrigation labor, and crop yield. Sensitivity analysis is performed to study the effect of changes in crop prices on the optimal results.