The continued decline in the availability of water from the Ogallala Aquifer has led to an increased interest in conservation policies designed to extend the life of the aquifer to sustain rural economies in the Texas Panhandle. This study evaluates the effectiveness of five policies in terms of...

The declining availability of irrigation water from the Ogallala aquifer combined with increasing energy costs make irrigation strategies much more critical. Maximizing yield reduces profit by between $22 and $158 per acre depending on the combination of corn and natural gas prices.

Optimization models are developed to determine grazing alternatives for individual dryland producers. Models alternatives include wheat, sorghum-sudan, summer perennial grass, and native range. Precipitation risk and price risk are estimated for seasonal production alternatives, and options that...