If all the years were “dry”, total farm benefits due to 

irrigation would have exceeded $800,000 and even if 

all years were considered “wet”, total farm benefits still 

would have been almost $70,000. Therefore, the benefits of having irrigation exceed its costs at ICF even if every year is on average “wet” given that rainfall does not 

always coincide with crop production needs. The main 

reason is that wet years still have dry periods during 

critical crop growth stages when irrigation provides 

significant benefits.

IRRIGATION PAYS IN PROTECTING VEGETABLE CROP REVENUES IN THE NORTHEAST U.S.

An Economic Case Study | Intervale Community Farm | September 2017

CLIMATE RECORDS SHOW THAT THE NORTHEAST 

IS EXPERIENCING MORE RAINFALL

However, much of the additional precipitation is occurring 

as heavy events, leaving intervening periods of hot and 

dry weather. With this extreme and variable wet weather 

taking its toll on farms, a key question is: 

Does crop irrigation make sense as a 

farm resilience strategy given the overall 

increased precipitation in the Northeast?

total farm

benefits due

to irrigation

$800,000 + 

DRY

all years

total farm

benefits due

to irrigation

$70,000 + WET all years

Andy Jones, ICF farm manager, thinks it does. Andy manages the Intervale Community Farm (ICF), which is one 

of Vermont’s oldest and largest community supported 

agriculture (CSA) farms. Andy has built a reputation as 

a leading organic vegetable grower in the Northeast. He 

explains, “On a 100-year floodplain, ICF soils have long 

been recognized as productive farmland, albeit subject to 

flooding. The irony is that much of the farm is composed 

of sandy soils, which drain well but need to be irrigated 

during dry periods.” The impacts of climate change in the 

Northeast have meant an increase in extreme weather 

events including heavy downpours and extended dry, hot 

periods throughout the growing season. 

The economic costs and benefits of irrigation at ICF were 

calculated using Andy’s records from 2006 to 2016. To 

estimate irrigation needs in the years when data was not 

available, Cornell University’s Climate Smart Farming 

(CSF) Water Deficit Calculator was used to model when 

plant stress was likely to occur. 

INTERVALE COMMUNITY FARM IRRIGATION 

Partial Budget in 2016 Dollars (average $/acre/year)

This analysis (on back) shows that irrigation is profitable despite on-going infrastructure costs and variable 

summer weather. Overall, the cumulative net benefits 

per irrigated acre over 11 years was $33,121, and total 

farm benefits over all irrigated acres over 11 years were 

just over $500,000. 

The benefits of avoided crop loss were greater than the 

costs of irrigation in all but one year. When considering 

risk management, this means that if ICF can protect 

at least 3.5% of its crop revenues with irrigation, it will 

cover its costs of irrigation. Without irrigation, even in an 

average precipitation year, ICF would suffer diminished 

yields and quality without supplemental water. A range 

of irrigation scenarios and net benefits was also assessed in order to identify thresholds of when irrigation 

is needed the most and the least. 

farm intervale community farm

type certified organic vegetable farm

location winooski floodplain, burlington, vt

size 25 acres under cultivation in 2017

in business since 1990

farm manager andy jones
 

ICF’S DECISION TO INVEST IN DRIP AND SPRAY IRRIGATION OVER THE PAST 16 YEARS HAS BEEN SOUND

The benefits of reducing losses due to summer water deficits has exceeded the costs of purchasing the equipment, running the pumps, and the additional costs of labor and materials associated with managing this system. Of note is that 

ICF has kept their investment costs low by purchasing used equipment and using existing wells and an adjacent surface 

water supply. For other farms in the Northeast, the particular net benefits will depend on their particular cost inputs and 

other local conditions. Each farm will have its own set of site-specific cost and benefits.

increases in net income decrease in net income

average increase in income average increase in cost

item item

avoided production loss $3,793 irrigation equipment $285

annual material (plastic, drip tape) $227

annual operation costs (labor + fuel) $269

total increased net income/acre/Year $3,793 total decreased net income/acre/Year $782

total net benefit per acre per Year $3,011

total farm net benefits per acre over 11 Years $33,121

total irrigation net farm benefits (based upon all acres recieving supplemental irrigation) $508,705

* Total Acres Irrigated: 10 to 25 acres / Years of Data (2006 to 2016): 11 years

FARMING IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

In planning ahead for irrigation on farms, its important to revisit how the Northeast climate has already changed and 

how it’s projected to change. Between 1958 and 2010, the Northeast experienced more than a 70% increase in the 

amount of rain falling in very heavy events. Between 1895 and 2011, temperatures in the Northeast increased by almost 

2 ̊F, and precipitation increased by approximately five inches. 

By 2080, warming impacts in the Northeast will be an additional 3 to 10 degrees F depending on the level of greenhouse 

gases emitted. The frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves are expected to increase. Precipitation is projected 

to increase particularly in the northern Northeast. Summers are becoming hotter and longer with seasonal drought risk 

projected to increase in the summer and fall as higher temperatures lead to greater evaporation and earlier snowmelt. 

For water management practices, there are lessons to be learned from these trends as well as significant events in the 

past decade. For example, during Hurricane Irene in late August 2011, very heavy rain was recorded at three inches per 

hour. In contrast, earlier that same summer, ICF experienced several dry hot weeks when their crops needed irrigation 

to alleviate plant stress. 

Read full case study: www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/media/irrigation_case_study_intervale_july_2017_0.pdf

Case study by Lynn G. Knight, NRCS and Suzy Hodgson, 

UVM Extension | Photographs by Jenny brown and Suzy 

Hodgson, UVM Extension | USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer and lender