No Water, No Food!
Center-pivot irrigator
70% of the water in MTGCD's four-county area is used for agriculture. Today's farmers use center pivot irrigation systems like this one and sophisticated control systems to water their crops more efficiently. This allows them to produce the crops needed to feed people and livestock while drawing less water from the aquifer.
Center-pivot irrigator donated by Ferti-Tex Ag Services.
Due to extreme heat and continuous drought conditions, Texas farmers rely heavily on irrigation to grow their crops.
Sixty percent of water use in Texas is sourced from 31 groundwater aquifers. Nearly two-thirds of that groundwater in 2019 was used for different types of irrigation for plants.
Water conservation efforts help keep agricultural areas strong today and in the future. As the population grows and cities expand, agriculture faces big challenges. The industry needs to produce more food for a growing population while using less land and water.
How much water does it take to grow the food you eat? Use the water footprint calculator linked below to calculate how and where your food is produced, whether it’s rainfed or irrigated, and how much pollution it creates.