As groundwater levels continue to decline in the Ogallala Aquifer, stakeholders, policymakers, and producers encourage the adoption of new irrigation technology in an effort to conserve groundwater, extend the economic life of the aquifer, and enhance profitability. One such technology currently receiving attention in the Central Ogallala region is the mobile drip irrigation (MDI) application system. This study compares MDI to low elevation spray application irrigation by evaluating the changes in variable cost per hectare to calculate the payback period for a MDI system under three levels of investment cost for grain and fiber crops representing three levels of water use while holding yield constant. Using a 3% discount rate, under the medium level of investment cost ($371 per hectare), a discounted payback period of 4.9, 9.0, and 6.3 years is required for corn, cotton, and sorghum/wheat, respectively. As the cost per hectare to convert an existing center pivot drops to $185 per hectare, the payback period also drops to 2.3, 4.2, and 3.0 years, respectively. Thus, producers growing higher water use crops are able to recover the costs of the conversion to MDI through increased water use efficiency quicker than producers growing medium and lower water use crops.

中文翻译：

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奥加拉拉中部地区改用移动滴灌的经济可行性

随着奥加拉拉含水层地下水位持续下降，利益相关者、政策制定者和生产者鼓励采用新的灌溉技术，以保护地下水、延长含水层的经济寿命并提高盈利能力。目前在奥加拉拉中部地区受到关注的一项此类技术是移动滴灌 (MDI) 应用系统。本研究通过评估每公顷可变成本的变化来比较 MDI 与低海拔喷洒灌溉，以计算 MDI 系统在代表三个用水水平同时保持产量不变的粮食和纤维作物的三个投资成本水平下的投资回收期。使用 3% 的贴现率，在中等水平的投资成本（每公顷 371 美元）下，贴现投资回收期为 4.9、9.0 和 6。玉米、棉花和高粱/小麦分别需要 3 年。随着转换现有中心枢纽的每公顷成本降至每公顷 185 美元，投资回收期也分别降至 2.3、4.2 和 3.0 年。因此，与种植中等和低用水量作物的生产者相比，种植高用水量作物的生产者能够通过提高用水效率更快地收回转化为 MDI 的成本。