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Author: Matthew Ken Clark Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The expansion of the biofuels industry, world demand, and various other factors are having a historic impact on the price of grains. These high prices have been creating a large increase in production of many water intensive crops such as corn. As corn is among the most input-intensive crops, this extra production has raised concerns about environmental impacts and pressures on water resources in particular. While water quality has been a longstanding concern in the cornbelt, much of the new production is in nontraditional corn regions including the southeast, the High Plains, and the western states. In these areas, there is mounting concern over depletion of already stressed water supplies. In the High Plains, the chief water source is the Ogallala aquifer, one of the largest water resources in the world that underlies eight states from South Dakota to Texas. The Ogallala has enabled many agricultural industries, such as irrigated crops, cattle feeding, and meat processing, to establish themselves in areas that would not be possible otherwise. A consequence is that the economy of this region has become dependent on groundwater availability. Continued overdrafts of the aquifer have caused a long-term drop in water levels and some areas have now reached effective depletion. This thesis seeks to estimate the impact of the rising commodity prices on groundwater consumption and cropping patterns in the Kansas portion of the Ogallala. The economy of this region is particularly dependent on water and irrigated crops, with more than 3 million head of feeder cattle and irrigated crop revenues exceeding $600 million annually. Sheridan (northwestern Kansas), Seward (southwestern Kansas), and Scott (west central Kansas) counties have been selected as representative case study regions. These counties have a wide range of aquifer levels with Seward having an abundant supply, Sheridan an intermediate supply, and Scott nearing effective depletion. Cropping patterns in these counties are typical of the western Kansas region, with most irrigated acreage being planted to corn and with dominant nonirrigated rotations of wheat-fallow and wheat-sorghum-fallow. A Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model was developed and calibrated to land- and water-use data in the case counties for a base period of 1999-2003. The PMP approach produces a constrained nonlinear optimization model that mimics the land- and water- allocation decision facing producers each year. The choice variables in the model are the acreages planted to each of the major crops and the water use by crop. The model was run for each of the case counties. The PMP calibration procedure ensures that the model solutions fall within a small tolerance of the base period observations. Once calibrated, the models were executed to simulate the impacts of the emerging energy demand for crops over a 60-year period. After the baseline projections were found, the model was then run under increased crop prices that reflect the higher prices observed in 2006 and after. The thesis found that under the high price scenario, both irrigated crop production and water application per acre increased significantly during the early years of the simulated period in all modeled counties. The size of the increases depended on the amount of original water available in each county. The increases generally diminished in magnitude toward the end of the simulation period, but led to smaller ending levels of saturated thickness as compared to the base price in all counties. Finally, in two of the three counties, it was observed that initial increases in irrigated crop acres and water application forces a decline in the aquifer such that less water can be applied per acre in the final years of the simulation. This suggests that high commodity prices forces a higher emphasis on early production levels than later production levels. Additionally, the higher prices have a significant effect on the rate of decline of the Ogallala aquifer.
Author: Matthew Ken Clark Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The expansion of the biofuels industry, world demand, and various other factors are having a historic impact on the price of grains. These high prices have been creating a large increase in production of many water intensive crops such as corn. As corn is among the most input-intensive crops, this extra production has raised concerns about environmental impacts and pressures on water resources in particular. While water quality has been a longstanding concern in the cornbelt, much of the new production is in nontraditional corn regions including the southeast, the High Plains, and the western states. In these areas, there is mounting concern over depletion of already stressed water supplies. In the High Plains, the chief water source is the Ogallala aquifer, one of the largest water resources in the world that underlies eight states from South Dakota to Texas. The Ogallala has enabled many agricultural industries, such as irrigated crops, cattle feeding, and meat processing, to establish themselves in areas that would not be possible otherwise. A consequence is that the economy of this region has become dependent on groundwater availability. Continued overdrafts of the aquifer have caused a long-term drop in water levels and some areas have now reached effective depletion. This thesis seeks to estimate the impact of the rising commodity prices on groundwater consumption and cropping patterns in the Kansas portion of the Ogallala. The economy of this region is particularly dependent on water and irrigated crops, with more than 3 million head of feeder cattle and irrigated crop revenues exceeding $600 million annually. Sheridan (northwestern Kansas), Seward (southwestern Kansas), and Scott (west central Kansas) counties have been selected as representative case study regions. These counties have a wide range of aquifer levels with Seward having an abundant supply, Sheridan an intermediate supply, and Scott nearing effective depletion. Cropping patterns in these counties are typical of the western Kansas region, with most irrigated acreage being planted to corn and with dominant nonirrigated rotations of wheat-fallow and wheat-sorghum-fallow. A Positive Mathematical Programming (PMP) model was developed and calibrated to land- and water-use data in the case counties for a base period of 1999-2003. The PMP approach produces a constrained nonlinear optimization model that mimics the land- and water- allocation decision facing producers each year. The choice variables in the model are the acreages planted to each of the major crops and the water use by crop. The model was run for each of the case counties. The PMP calibration procedure ensures that the model solutions fall within a small tolerance of the base period observations. Once calibrated, the models were executed to simulate the impacts of the emerging energy demand for crops over a 60-year period. After the baseline projections were found, the model was then run under increased crop prices that reflect the higher prices observed in 2006 and after. The thesis found that under the high price scenario, both irrigated crop production and water application per acre increased significantly during the early years of the simulated period in all modeled counties. The size of the increases depended on the amount of original water available in each county. The increases generally diminished in magnitude toward the end of the simulation period, but led to smaller ending levels of saturated thickness as compared to the base price in all counties. Finally, in two of the three counties, it was observed that initial increases in irrigated crop acres and water application forces a decline in the aquifer such that less water can be applied per acre in the final years of the simulation. This suggests that high commodity prices forces a higher emphasis on early production levels than later production levels. Additionally, the higher prices have a significant effect on the rate of decline of the Ogallala aquifer.
Author: Logan Harkey Publisher: ISBN: Category : Groundwater Languages : en Pages : 156
Book Description
Agriculture plays a vital role in the growth and development of the High Plains Region of the United States. Historically, early settlers in the semi-arid region were plagued by crop failures largely due to drought; however, affordable irrigation technology aided in the transformation of the High Plains into one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world (Peterson et al., 2003). The primary source of irrigation in this region is the Ogallala Aquifer. Spanning approximately 174,000 square miles, the aquifer lies under parts of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota (Alley et al., 1999). Currently, water from the aquifer is being used at a much faster rate than natural recharge can occur, resulting in a high rate of depletion from this finite resource. Depletion of scarce water resources will have a significant economic impact on the long term sustainability of the region. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact alternative prices and discount rates have on groundwater policy recommendations. Deterministic models of groundwater withdrawals were developed and used in order to analyze and evaluate the impact of high, average, and low crop prices in a status quo scenario as well as a policy scenario reducing irrigated acreage allocation. Furthermore, this study analyzes the effects and associated consequences of alternative discount rates on net and total revenue. As indicated by results of this study, alternative prices, costs, and discount rates utilized in a model have an effect on the resulting policy recommendations. These assumptions play a significant role in determining what measures of groundwater policy should be implemented. Considering the declining levels of saturated thickness seen in the results of this study, the analysis of alternative discount rates and the associated policy recommendations is merited.
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 030930783X Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 340
Book Description
How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans' well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality, and the federal budget. From the earliest developments of agriculture, a major goal has been to attain sufficient foods that provide the energy and the nutrients needed for a healthy, active life. Over time, food production, processing, marketing, and consumption have evolved and become highly complex. The challenges of improving the food system in the 21st century will require systemic approaches that take full account of social, economic, ecological, and evolutionary factors. Policy or business interventions involving a segment of the food system often have consequences beyond the original issue the intervention was meant to address. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System develops an analytical framework for assessing effects associated with the ways in which food is grown, processed, distributed, marketed, retailed, and consumed in the United States. The framework will allow users to recognize effects across the full food system, consider all domains and dimensions of effects, account for systems dynamics and complexities, and choose appropriate methods for analysis. This report provides example applications of the framework based on complex questions that are currently under debate: consumption of a healthy and safe diet, food security, animal welfare, and preserving the environment and its resources. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System describes the U.S. food system and provides a brief history of its evolution into the current system. This report identifies some of the real and potential implications of the current system in terms of its health, environmental, and socioeconomic effects along with a sense for the complexities of the system, potential metrics, and some of the data needs that are required to assess the effects. The overview of the food system and the framework described in this report will be an essential resource for decision makers, researchers, and others to examine the possible impacts of alternative policies or agricultural or food processing practices.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families Publisher: ISBN: Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 988
Book Description
This document presents witness' testimonies and supplemental materials from the congressional hearing called to examine the issue of automotive safety. In her opening statement, Chairwoman Patricia Schroeder briefly reviews statistics on traffic accidents and identifies the two major issues to be addressed in the hearing: failure to act by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the use of safety belts. It is emphasized throughout the hearing that representatives from NHTSA refused to appear at the hearing; the absence of representatives from the trucking and automobile industries is also noted. Witnesses providing testimonies include: (1) Byron Bloch, a consultant on auto safety design, who briefly reviews the history of NHTSA and demonstrates the danger of "windowshade" seat belts (seat belts with too much slack in the shoulder belts), automatic shoulder belts, and truck underride; (2) Joan Claybrook, the president of Public Citizen; who describes safety systems which she feels should be standard equipment in all vehicles; (3) Benjamin Kelley, the president of the Institute for Injury Reduction; who addresses the issue of "windowshade" seat belts; and (4) Brian O'Neill, the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who reviews the history of manual and nonmanual automatic restraints and the safeguards in place to prevent truck underride. Letters, prepared statements, and supplemental materials are included from Representative Schroeder, the witnesses, the American Trucking Association, Inc., and Jerry Ralph Curry, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (NB)
Author: Matthew Ken Clark
Author: Matthew Ken Clark
Author: Logan Harkey
Author: Kansas Agriculture Ogallala Task Force
Author: 
Author: William M. Crosswhite
Author: 
Author: National Research Council
Author: United States. Bureau of Mines
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Author: United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families