Willingness to switch to green irrigation energy: A case study of farmers in the lower great plains of the United States

Abstract

This study evaluated the characteristics of farmers that influenced their willingness to switch to green irrigation energy to reduce CO₂ emissions using primary data on 105 irrigators operating in the lower U.S. Great Plains. It also sought to determine the effect of their switch on their CO₂ emissions. The farmers used electricity, natural gas, diesel, and propane as their irrigation energy, and the proposed green energy was defined to produce zero CO₂ and included on-farm generated wind and solar energy or grid electricity not generated with fossil feedstock. The study found that younger farmers with fewer irrigated acreage, a positive perspective about green energy, about 20-30 years’ experience, and lower irrigation energy costs were the most likely to switch. Using the Second-Generation p-Value approach, we were able to show that the data did support the alternative hypotheses and produced very low false discovery rates. The study showed CO₂ emission savings of about three-quarters of current total emissions if all 75% irrigators who indicated a willingness to switch actually do switch to green energy. The inferential power of a case study is limited. Therefore, it is suggested that given the importance of these findings, a future study based on a representative sample be conducted to test these results and providing more confident direction to policymakers as they continue to find ways to help agriculture reduce its carbon footprint.