Assessment of Profitability and Sustainability for Growers in the Southern High Plains of Texas

This study aims to assess both profitability and sustainability for different crops to understand the most effective utilization of our scarce resources in the face of a growing population and changing climate. Economic budgets were created from grower data collected from the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation demonstration project located in six counties across the Southern High Plains of Texas. The results indicate that while profitability and sustainability occasionally align for certain crops, they are not directly correlated. The study found that, in this region, pivot-irrigated cotton generates a reasonable profit and is also efficient in terms of irrigated water use. Corn was found to be efficient in soil conservation and increasing soil carbon, whereas grain sorghum was identified as cost-efficient.