Page 60 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE

The price of fuel and pumping lift are some of the major factors that

influence pumping cost for irrigated crops. The analysis is conducted by
varying fuel price and pumping lift to determine the impact of these

variables on irrigation costs under each irrigation system. The results of
the analysis help in determining how the decision to invest in irrigation

technology will be influenced by the changes in these variables.

Impact of Fuel Prices on Pumping Cost

The impact on fuel costs per acre is analyzed using natural gas

prices ranging from $7.00/MCF to $12.00/MCF with increments of
$1.00 to determine the impact of fuel price change on the fuel costs

under different irrigation systems. The water requirement of corn with

LESA is assumed at 20.00 acre-inches. The water in acre-inches
pumped is adjusted for other irrigation systems using a relative

application efficiency of each system compared to the application
efficiency of the LESA system. The estimated fuel costs at an operating

lift of 350 feet for corn are presented in Table 5.
At a price of $7.00/MCF of natural gas, the fuel cost for LEPA is

$6.76 and at $12.00/MCF this cost rises to $11.59, an increase of $4.83.

For the same quantity of effective water to be pumped, the fuel cost for
furrow is $10.37 at $700/MCF and $17.77 at $12.00/MCF. This is an

increase of $7.40. The increase in fuel cost on the LEPA system
equates to $0.54 per bushel increase in the cost of producing 180 bushel

per acre corn yield and the increase in fuel cost on the furrow system
equates to $0.82 per bushel. Generally, the less efficient irrigation

system has greater impact of a change in fuel cost on the cost of

production of an irrigated crop.

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