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U.S. agriculture water use decreased for most crops and livestock production between 1995 and 2010, according to a new research released by the University of Illinois on Tuesday.
Water use for irrigation purposes in most crops decreased by 8.3% while water use for livestock declined by 14%, according to Sandy Dall’erba, regional economist at the university and co-author of the study.
Dall’erba says a number of drivers contributed to reduced water use in grains, fruits and vegetables, namely improved irrigation systems, domestic per-capita income and sales to the food processing industry.
Likewise, Dall’erba and co-author Andre Avelino found that the increased demand for poultry products and less demand for red meat helped reduce the use of water by livestock.
However, the authors report that oilseed crops saw a 98% increase in water demand during the same 15-year period. The two say that this change was primarily driven by international supply-chain linkages.
“It means foreign companies, mostly in China, have purchased large amount of U.S. oilseed crops for further processing,” according to a university prepared news release by Marianne Stein.
In their analysis, the authors looked at 18 factors that drive U.S. water withdrawals across eight crops, six livestock categories and 11 food manufacturing industries.
Based on data from Exiobase, a global supply-chain database, their analysis included water that’s embedded into the production at all stages of the domestic and international supply chain, from crops and livestock to processed food production¬ – highlighting the interconnectedness of global agribusiness, according to the news release.
For example, crops produced in the U.S. may rely on fertilizers produced in a different country. Similarly, soybeans produced in the U.S. could be used for food processing in China, or to feed livestock in Europe.
The current U.S.-China trade war is likely to affect these supply-chain linkages, as Chinese import of oilseeds shifts to South America and Europe.
The U.S. exported less soybean and pork to China over the last two years; therefore, less water was embedded into those exports. However, the next few years under a new U.S. administration may see an improvement in these relationships, Dall’erba notes.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also likely affecting water usage. Unemployment and economic crises have always impacted consumer demand, and in
ternational trade has sharply declined since the pandemic began. The 2008 recession resulted in decreased water usage and similar effects are expected in the current crisis, Dall’erba states in the release.
The complete news release is available for review at https://bit.ly/3f7uQD2
