During fruit sizing and hot weather, you may run the system 3 to 5 hours daily and still experience some crop stress. It is then hoped that a few of these plantings will survive and yield during the drought. However, this is actually more costly than irrigating. Extra acreage and other resources are tied up with crops that may not make it to market. Another problem with this strategy is that the market is dictated by supply and demand.
Growers receive the best prices when less of the crop is being sold in the market.
In other words, irrigated vegetables during a drought normally sell for more money. If you have fields that avoided the drought, then other growers probably do too. Although drought may occur at any time during the year, some crops such as cabbage, kale, collards, turnip greens, lettuce, and spinach are grown during the fall and spring. This tends to make these crops less prone to drought problems. However, irrigation will also enhance the yield and quality of these crops.