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Calcimator

Irrigation Return on Investment Calculator

Evaluate irrigation system ROI with NPV, IRR, payback period, and benefit-cost ratio from yield improvement, water savings, and energy savings.

Inputs

%
%

Results

Annual net benefit ($)

$33,675.00

≈ 17 gaming PCs

Simple payback (years)

3.6

Net Present Value ($)

$370,360.00

≈ 9 Teslas

Annual yield revenue gain ($)$34,375.00
Annual water savings value ($)$800.00
Annual gross benefit ($)$38,175.00
Discounted payback (years)3.9
Internal Rate of Return (%)30.8
Benefit-cost ratio3
Cost per acre ($)$960.00
Annualized cost/acre ($)$48.00
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter System cost ($), Field size (acres), and Yield increase (bu/acre).
  2. Set Crop price ($/bu), Annual water savings (acre-in), and Water value ($/acre-in).
  3. Adjust Annual energy savings ($), Annual maintenance ($) as needed.
  4. Review Annual net benefit ($) ($), Simple payback (years), and Net Present Value ($) ($).
  5. Use Annual yield revenue gain ($) ($) and Annual water savings value ($) ($) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with Field size (acres)

Field size (acres)Annual net benefit ($)Simple payback (years)Net Present Value ($)
501$137,075.000.9$1,876,022.00
1,751$480,825.000.2$6,881,549.00
3,250$893,050.000.1$12,884,177.00
4,500$1,236,800.000.1$17,889,704.00

What each input means

System cost ($)
Total installed cost of the irrigation system or upgrade.
Field size (acres)
Irrigated area served by the system.
Yield increase (bu/acre)
Expected yield improvement from irrigation (or system upgrade).
Crop price ($/bu)
Expected average crop price per bushel.
Annual water savings (acre-in)
Water saved per year compared to previous system or no irrigation.
Water value ($/acre-in)
Value of water saved (pump cost, water rights value, etc.).
Annual energy savings ($)
Annual energy cost savings from improved efficiency.
Annual maintenance ($)
Annual maintenance, repair, and labor costs for the system.
System lifespan (years)
Expected useful life of the irrigation system.
Discount rate (%)
Rate of return expected from alternative investments.
Annual inflation (%)
Expected annual increase in crop prices and costs.

What each result means

Annual yield revenue gain ($)
Additional revenue from yield improvement per year.
Annual water savings value ($)
Value of water saved annually.
Annual gross benefit ($)
Total annual benefits (yield + water + energy savings).
Annual net benefit ($)
Annual benefits minus maintenance costs.
Simple payback (years)
Years to recover investment from net annual benefits.
Discounted payback (years)
Years to recover investment in present-value terms.
Net Present Value ($)
NPV of investment over system lifespan. Positive = profitable.
Internal Rate of Return (%)
IRR — discount rate at which NPV equals zero.
Benefit-cost ratio
PV of benefits divided by PV of costs. >1.0 = worthwhile.
Cost per acre ($)
System investment cost per irrigated acre.
Annualized cost/acre ($)
System cost spread over lifespan per acre per year.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    System cost ($) = 120000, Field size (acres) = 125, Yield increase (bu/acre) = 50, Crop price ($/bu) = 5.5 = 11 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Annual net benefit
    Annual net benefit = annualGrossBenefit - annualMaintenanceCost
    33675 = $33,675
  3. Calculate Simple payback
    3.6 = 3.6
  4. Calculate Net Present Value
    Net Present Value = -systemCost
    370360 = $370,360
  5. Calculate Annual yield revenue gain
    Annual yield revenue gain = yieldIncreaseBuPerAcre * cropPricePerBu * fieldAcres
    34375 = $34,375
  6. Calculate Annual water savings value
    Annual water savings value = annualWaterSavingsAcreIn * waterValuePerAcreIn
    800 = $800

Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

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