Innovations in economic assessment of drought management: Application to crops and river basins of New Mexico.
Shadabi L, Ward FA
Climate Adaptation
Farmers growing the alfalfa, corn, and pecan crops that feed your region's food supply are being squeezed by droughts that drain both fields and aquifers — and blanket statewide drought policies are missing the mark for communities that depend on specific crops and local water sources.
Researchers tracked how drought between 2017 and 2019 affected different crops across seven river basins in New Mexico. They found that hay and grain fields lost the most money and took the longest to recover, while high-value crops like chile peppers and pecans held up better in the short term. Farms that rely on pumping groundwater instead of river water were hit especially hard because the cost of running those pumps skyrocketed during dry years.
Key Findings
Forage and grain crops (like alfalfa and corn) experienced the largest and most persistent income losses across the 2017–2019 drought period relative to the 2015 baseline.
Higher-value crops such as vegetables and nuts showed greater short-term resilience to drought conditions, though they were not immune to income losses.
Groundwater-dependent river basins suffered amplified income losses due to rising pumping costs, exposing a key limit to groundwater as a long-term drought buffer.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A new economic analysis of New Mexico agriculture reveals that drought hits forage and grain crops hardest and longest, while nuts and vegetables bounce back faster. Groundwater-dependent farming regions suffer extra losses because pumping costs spike when surface water runs dry.
Abstract Preview
Drought frequency and intensity have increased in many arid and semi-arid regions, placing growing pressure on irrigated agriculture and basin-scale water management systems. A growing amount of li...
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Alfalfa, lucerne, Medicago sativa is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world and is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop. It has also been cultivated as livest...