CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 09/03/09

Georgia farms will need more water in the future

A recent University of Georgia report shows that Georgia farmers will need 20 percent more water to grow their crops in the next four decades. They’ll need it to meet increased food demand and to compete globally.

“Without irrigation, in many places, there is no farming,” said Jim Hook, a professor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “And for many regions of the state, agriculture is still the best economic bet for growth.”

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division commissioned the report, which was produced by a team of UGA crop and weather experts. Its purpose is to provide information to the state’s regional water councils meeting throughout the state this month, said Hook, who is the team’s leader.

The councils will consider the report as they develop water plans for their regions, which will then be added to the overall state water plan. The state plan will also include forecasts for population and economy, energy use, land use and water and wastewater demands.

The forecast predicts the water farmers will need to irrigate pecans and major row crops like cotton, peanuts, corn and soybeans, which account for 85 percent of the current irrigation needs. Vegetables, orchards, blueberries, sod farms and nurseries were also included. It specifies whether the water will come from groundwater (underground water) or surface water (water from ponds, rivers or streams).

It includes how much water farmers will need in a dry, average or wet year. In Georgia, Mother Nature can be a bit mischievous in when and where rainfall hits.

“In Western states, it’s easier to know how much water you have each year. It’s either collected in reservoirs or stored as mountain icecaps,” Hook said. “That’s not the case in Georgia, where recharge is less predictable.”

For example, if 2011 is a dry year from spring through fall, farmers will need 800 million gallons of water per day from underground sources and 300 million gallons per day from surface sources, according to the forecast. If 2050 is a dry year, they will need 1 billion gallons per day from underground sources and 400 million gallons per day from surface water.

“Georgia’s agriculture sector will continue to be a major water user in the state,” he said.

The forecast is broken down by water planning regions, counties, river basins and sub-basins. The county data includes monthly water demands, crop projections and current irrigated fields.

Existing computer models were used to make the forecast, he said, which took 9 months to complete.

Economic models from the U.S. Department of Agriculture were used to predict farmers’ crop choices over the next decade, focusing particularly on farmers in the Southeast. Crop models developed by CAES researchers were used to foretell crop water needs and climate data.

Geographical Information System, or GIS, images were used to locate the 23,000 fields in Georgia that have irrigation systems, including more than 15,000 center pivots, or large systems that rotate in a field.

Future irrigation use will happen in places where the practice is already established, particularly in southwest Georgia, the state’s row-crop and vegetable production hub. The area’s water needs are fueled by one of the largest water supplies in the country: the Floridan aquifer. It starts near the state’s fall line and runs east into extreme southern South Carolina and south through Florida.

“The Floridan is a massive water supply,” Hook said.

The aquifer is recharged by water that falls in south Georgia, he said. Its levels are not connected to any rainfall or use in north Georgia, where water comes from surface water supplies that don’t make it into the aquifer.

Irrigation use exploded in 1970s and ‘80s in Georgia, when irrigated acres jumped from 200,000 acres to 1 million acres, he said. Since then, it has been a steady increase to the 1.5 million irrigated acres today.

It is estimated that farmers have invested almost $3 billion in today’s dollars in irrigation equipment and infrastructure in the state over the past four decades, he said, an investment that is responsible for much of the $3 billion to $4 billion in annual crop sales in Georgia.

To view the entire forecast, visit www.nespal.org/sirp/waterinfo/state/awd/agwaterdemand.htm.

Brad Haire is the former news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Jim Hook
Georgia farmers will need 20 percent more water to grow their crops in the next four decades, according to a recent report by University of Georgia crop and weather experts.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
HurricaneHeleneGreenhouseDamageCropped CAES News
UGA Extension supports resilience in Georgia farm communities after Hurricane Helene 12/19/24 Emily Cabrera
Hurricane Helene wrought sweeping devastation across Georgia’s agricultural sector in late September, leaving an indelible mark on both the land and the people who tend it, bringing focus to vulnerabilities in Georgia’s farming industry and the need for more robust safety nets. In addition to the physical destruction, the hurricane took an emotional toll on Georgia’s farmers. In response, UGA Extension has prioritized mental health support.
From left, CAES Associate Professor Abigail Borron and Fulbright Romanian-American Foundation Scholars Mihai Suteu, Daniyar Memedemin, Alina Zaharia, Andreea Ona and Daniel Chiciudean stand in front of an image of the Romanian flag projected onto a barn at UGArden. CAES News
Fulbright Scholars unite with UGA Extension to envision ag outreach model in Romania 12/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Arriving on the Athens campus of the University of Georgia in August 2023, five Romanian scholars experienced the same anticipation, excitement and apprehension as many first-year students.  Chosen as Fulbright Romanian-American Foundation Scholars, each serves on the faculty at one of three Romanian universities, specializing in fields from economics and engineering to plant breeding and biotechnology. The five scholars comprised the first cohort of the Romanian Extension Education Development Program, an ambitious three-year pilot effort to facilitate planning and implementation of extension services in Romania. 
At the 2024 Georgia Life Sciences Summit held Oct. 21-22 in Atlanta, Professor Quingguo “Jack” Huang of the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences received the Golden Helix Innovation Award for his research in technologies to mitigate “forever chemicals” in water resources. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker) CAES News
Nothing lasts forever: CAES professor finds solutions to break down ‘forever chemicals’ 12/05/24 Carson McAfee
University of Georgia Professor Qingguo “Jack” Huang always wanted to do one thing: solve problems. Growing up in a small city in central China, Huang’s favorite subject in elementary school was math, granting him the opportunity to work on many problems. In high school, his passion transitioned to science, where he learned he could feed those same interests in a way that benefited others. He was finishing high school in the 1980s when Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring made its way to Chinese newspapers, capturing Huang’s attention.
Georgia Simmons at the office of U.S. Sen. Warnock CAES News
Georgia 4-H alum, CAES student spends semester serving at the nation's Capitol 12/03/24 Josie Smith, Cooper Hardy
Third-year University of Georgia student and Banks County 4-H alum Georgia Simmons has been in the center of the political action this fall with the Georgia 4-H Washington DC Intern Program. Simmons, an environmental resource science major in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, works in the office of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. As an intern on his staff, she interacts directly with policy experts and lawmakers, participating in the legislative process while earning a semester of credit hours.
Longtime faculty member George Vellidis was named the first permanent director of the Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture. IIPA was launched in 2022 and has grown to include more than 70 faculty members. (Photo by Paul Privette for UGA CAES) CAES News
Vellidis named director of Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture 12/02/24 David Mitchell
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Professor George Vellidis has been named director of the Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture (IIPA). His term began on Nov. 1, and he will serve as the unit’s first permanent director. “Dr. Vellidis has been a vital member of our UGA faculty for years and played a key role in launching IIPA,” said Chris King, interim vice president for research. “Whether it’s his impact as a first-class researcher and educator or the work he does behind the scenes to elevate our reputation in the field abroad, his presence has made UGA a hub for precision agriculture research.”
In Georgia alone, there are nearly 400,000 individuals employed in some segment of hospitality. With the unique mix of leisure travel in coastal Georgia and convention travel in Atlanta, HFIM students have a wealth of opportunities to choose the area that suits them best. CAES News
UGA redefines Southern hospitality through a thriving degree program 11/27/24 Claire S. Kinnard
There are nearly 400,000 individuals employed in some segment of hospitality in Georgia. With the unique mix of leisure travel in coastal Georgia and convention travel in Atlanta, University of Georgia hospitality and food industry management students have a wealth of opportunities to choose the area that suits them best. This versatile experience — with its focus on quality curriculum, meaningful interaction with local and national business, and experiential learning — has already begun graduating the next generation of hospitality leaders.