| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: The High Plains has been viewed as an immense garden because of its highly productive agricultural system based on irrigation. But there is concern that the aquifers are being depleted and that the region may be returning to its natural state of a vast shortgrass prairie. Efforts to avoid this scenario and to ensure continued survival of the integrated agribusiness economy focus on conserving water in irrigation. This paper examines the adoption of 39 water-saving practices for ten counties in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The frequency of adoption was estimated from a survey of 709 irrigators, and the variance was found primarily to be a function of location and secondarily to be influenced by number of wells, type of irrigation system, depth to water, age, and education. Locational differences remained strong even when the influence of secondary factors were controlled. |
