The economic feasibility of installing subsurface tile drainage in the Panoche Water District, San Joaquin Valley, California [USA]

• Published in: Information series in agricultural economics - Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics, California University, Cooperative Extension Service, Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agricultural Sciences (USA) no. 80-3
• Main Authors: Fitz, J.C, Horner, G.L, Snyder, J.H
• Format: Publication
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.1980

Extract: Investment in subsurface drainage facilities may be suboptimal on irrigated farms in the San Joaquin Valley because the amount of financial returns from such investments is unknown to most farmers. The objectives of this study are to:(1) Develop a methodology for estimating the returns from investment in a subsurface drainage for a typical irrigated farm, (2) Develop decision guidelines for optimal spacings and depths of drains for a typical irrigated farm drainage problem, given the cropping pattern, interest rate, and for a set of crop prices and input costs, and (3) Determine the sensitivity of the optimal drainage design to variations in crop yields, crop prices, drainage costs, and average soil permeability. Optimal private drainage investment will be defined in this analysis as the level of private drainage investment expressed in terms of lateral spacing and depth which will maximize the annual value of the return on a drainage investment