World's Dry Areas Feel Pinch

Expert Questions Futures of Cattle Production

Todd Neeley
By  Todd Neeley , DTN Staff Reporter
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Where areas of the U.S. suffer from drought sporadically, more arid areas of the world don't use the word "drought." Water is at a premium there all the time. (DTN photo by Pam Smith)

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Smack dab in the heart of beef country Theib Oweis suggested that as water is harder to come by and concerns about climate change persist, farmers and ranchers may have to consider whether cattle production is feasible.

Speaking to attendees at the 40th annual Great Plains Symposium, "Drought in the life, cultures and landscapes of the Great Plains," Thursday on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, Oweis said in water-scarce areas across the world, including the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Asia, cattle production already has become less favorable.

Director of the Integrated Water and Land Management Program of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, based in Amman, Jordan, Oweis said water scarcity is intensifying and drought isn't a term used in dry areas of the world.

"It is not a drought," he said. "We have this kind of drought you have all the time. One-third of the world population lives in water-scarce areas."

In recent years drought in the Southern Plains already has forced changes in the cattle industry as producers have had to adapt to feed challenges. The U.S. cattle herd is at a 60-year-plus low at just under 88 million head, the fewest since 1951; and the Texas herd, at 10.9 million head, is down 18% from four years ago.

If projections of more widespread drought and persistently higher temperatures in the decades to come play out, Oweis said even U.S. cattle farmers will be forced to make tougher decisions about water.

"Over the years we have had land as a limiting factor," Oweis said. "Now it is water that is more of a limiting factor."

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DRY STRATEGIES

The dry regions of the world use different forms of irrigation like harvesting rainwater and may even leave some field rows empty to spread the limited amount of water out among the crop.

Oweis said Jordan exists on about 160 cubic meters of water per year. That compares to maybe 1,000 cubic meters in many locations of the Midwest.

"We live in a very difficult situation," he said. "For agriculture water is declining. Eighty-five percent of our water is for agriculture with an increasing population. Climate change adds to the problem for dry areas. There is a decrease in precipitation. It is very worrying to see climate change impacts in dry areas. Energy is competing with food."

Discovering new water in dry areas is limited, he said, and most surface water is already used up.

Aquifers are declining. Groundwater is declining. Many countries use little sewage treatment to save water, which Oweis pointed out leads to health problems. Desalination is costly, making it difficult to use ocean water.

"In water-scarce areas water is not free," he said. "The value of water is very high," he said. "Water transfer has lots of costs associated with it. People don't want to move water from basin to basin. People are worried about food security and there is talk about self-reliance following the food crisis of 2007-2008 in the Middle East. We were unable to buy wheat. People would like to produce more, we need more food for sure, but we need more water."

MODERN IRRIGATION

While much of the work on saving water in places such as the Ogallala Aquifer focuses on conservation through modern irrigation efficiencies and cropping practices, Oweis said in water-scarce areas irrigation efficiency does little to help overcome water shortages.

"Coping strategies are insufficient," he said. "Increasing yield needs more water. Increasing yield is not going to solve the problem in scarce areas. The only savings of water (with modern irrigation) is on paper, there's not real savings."

In the Middle East and other water-scarce areas, instead of improved irrigation efficiency, he said there is a greater focus on capturing seepage and runoff from fields.

"The losses we want to minimize is water lost on farm but not lost in the system," Oweis said. "Drainage is partially recovered. In Egypt it is captured and re-used. We are only reducing losses that we have recovered somewhere else."

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

Follow Todd Neeley on Twitter @toddneeleyDTN

(CZ/BAS)

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Todd Neeley

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