Fewer than 1,000 farm operators discontinued irrigation because of shortage in surface or ground water in 1994. Irrigation is big business. The amount of water used varied greatly by geographic area and by type of crop. By state, Arizona irrigators reported a high of 4.4 feet per acre, compared to a low of less than one foot per acre in eight other states. Water for major crops ranged from a high of 2.5 feet per acre for rice and sugar beets for sugar, to a low of 0.5 feet per acre for tobacco.
Wells are the main source of irrigation water.
Half of all the irrigation water comes from wells and is used on over 60 percent of all irrigated land. The number of wells used for irrigation by U.S. farmers decreased by 4.7 percent from 1988 to 1994, to just under 330,000. Irrigators used multiple sources of information to make decisions for reducing irrigation costs and implementing water conservation plans. The most frequently reported resource was specialists from the Nation's agricultural universities and extension services. Forty-four percent of irrigators reported using their services.