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Greenhouse gas benefits of ag irrigation outweigh emissions costs

Friday, September 25, 2026 • 12 PM

Photo: John Eisele / Colorado State University Photography.

Irrigating U.S. crops prevents higher greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding land conversion, groundbreaking new research by Colorado State University shows.

Agricultural irrigation allows the United States to grow more food on less land. If irrigation were suddenly shut off, the land change required to make up for lost yield would produce significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than those emitted by irrigating – 363 times more.

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