Impacts of water conservation cost-share programs on irrigated rice extensification and intensification in Critical Groundwater Areas of the Arkansas Delta

Authors

• Joshua Michael Blackstock, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow
• Oladipo S. Obembe, Arkansas State University - Jonesboro
• Aaron Shew, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow
• Michele Reba, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
• Joseph M. Massey, USDA ARS
• Phillip R. Owens, USDA, Agricultural Research Service
• Christopher D. Delhom, USDA ARS

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-4-2025

Keywords

agricultural irrigation, aquifer sustainability, government subsidy, groundwater management, rice production, water conservation

Abstract

We analyzed the impact of government cost-shares for irrigation water management (IWM) conservation practices on the expansion and cropping intensity of rice (Oryza spp.) acreage in the Arkansas Delta. We used the correlated random effects probit model to control for unobserved effects and exploit changes in government spending over time. We found that government-spending impacts are heterogeneous across Critical Groundwater Area (CGA) designations. A 10% increase in government spending in counties fully within CGAs would reduce the propensity to expand rice acreage by 1.2 percentage points and the likelihood to rotate rice after rice by 7.6 percentage points. In counties partially within CGAs, we found that an increase in government spending increases the propensity to expand rice acreage and the likelihood of rotating rice-rice. Findings from this study highlight important considerations of government IWM cost-shares and impacts on rice acreage in the Arkansas Delta and potential increased groundwater use in areas rotating rice-rice.

Comments

Web of Science

Taylor & Francis

Citation

Joshua M. Blackstock, Oladipo S. Obembe, Aaron M. Shew, Michele L. Reba, Joseph M. Massey, Phillip R. Owens & Christopher D. Delhom (2025) Impacts of water conservation cost-share programs on irrigated rice extensification and intensification in Critical Groundwater Areas of the Arkansas Delta, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 80:3, 240-260, DOI: 10.1080/00224561.2025.2510180

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.