Water Use Efficiency Calculator

Calculate crop water use efficiency, irrigation WUE, water productivity, and economic returns from irrigation vs. dryland farming.

Irrigated yield (bu/acre)

Dryland yield (bu/acre)

Seasonal crop ET (in)

Irrigation applied (in)

Effective rainfall (in)

Crop price ($/bu)

Irrigation cost ($/acre-in)

Field size (acres)

Grain moisture (%)

Tab to move between fields

Crop WUE (bu/in ET)

8.33

Irrigation WUE (bu/in irrigation)

8.57

Water productivity ($/in)$50

Yield gain from irrigation (bu/acre)120

Marginal revenue ($/acre)$660

Irrigation cost ($/acre)$84

Net return from irrigation ($/acre)$576

Irrigation ROI ($/$ spent)7.86

Supply/demand ratio (%)87.5

Total field net return ($)$57,600

WUE rating (1=Excellent, 4=Poor)2

Dry-matter yield (bu/acre)169

Transpiration (in)19.2%

Total Revenue$110,000

Total Irrigation Cost$8,400

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Irrigated yield (bu/acre), Dryland yield (bu/acre), and Seasonal crop ET (in).
Set Irrigation applied (in), Effective rainfall (in), and Crop price ($/bu).
Adjust Irrigation cost ($/acre-in), Field size (acres) as needed.
Review Crop WUE (bu/in ET) and Irrigation WUE (bu/in irrigation).
Use Water productivity ($/in) ($) and Yield gain from irrigation (bu/acre) to inform your decision.

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