10.17889/E111045
Keskin, Pinar
Hornbeck, Richard
Replication data for: The Historically Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Drought
ICPSR Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
2014
10.1257/app.6.1.190
10.1257/app.6.1.190
V0
Agriculture on the American Plains has been constrained historically
by water scarcity. Post-WWII technologies enabled farmers over the
Ogallala aquifer to extract groundwater for large-scale irrigation.
Comparing counties over the Ogallala with nearby similar counties,
groundwater access increased agricultural land values and initially
reduced the impact of droughts. Over time, land use adjusted toward
water intensive crops and drought sensitivity increased. Viewed differently,
farmers in nearby water-scarce areas maintained lowervalue
drought-resistant practices that fully mitigate naturally higher
drought sensitivity. The evolving impact of the Ogallala illustrates
the importance of water for agricultural production, but also the
large scope for agricultural adaptation to groundwater and drought.