Editorial

University study puts numbers on reduced irrigation

Monday, April 23, 2007

"If the farmer does well, everybody does well."

It's an old saying around small-town Nebraska main streets, but it holds true in a new university study commissioned by Natural Resources Districts along the Republican River.

According to the $9,000 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Bureau of Business Research study, some $81.6 million could be lost in the Lower, Middle and Upper Republican NRDs.

Ironically, higher prices could mean that we've lost even more money from curtailment of irrigation.

Using a 15 percent curtailment in irrigation from upland wells and 40 percent in quick-response wells closer to the river, the study assumes that farmers will not be compensated after being forced to cut the amount of water they will be allowed to put on their fields.

The study was not commissioned in time to examine the affect of imposing a $10 per irrigated acre water fee, nor a 10 cents per $100 assessed value for funding LB701, which is on the verge of being passed.

But, while farmers and irrigation districts have been compensated for taking land out of production or allowing water to be sent down the river to the Sunflower State, the long-term effect will be the same.

As the study indicates, "... lost production would lead to less income and lower local purchases.

"Lower spending on irrigation, transportation and nitrogen imply lost activity on the farm, but also less activity at local businesses or by individuals who provide these products and services," the study says.

"Second, lost sales imply lower farm proprietor income. Less proprietor income implies less spending in the community."

That translates to 503 full-time or part-time jobs, and $102.3 million in Middle Republican property value, $93.1 in the Lower Republican and $102.3 million in the Upper Republican.

Loss of that many jobs in an area like Southwest Nebraska can only exacerbate our loss of population.

It's obvious that, despite the high prices of commodities, farmers are in for some challenging years.

While they are, we must do everything we can to help them adjust to new realities, while redoubling our efforts to diversify our local economy.

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