Excerpts from the Introduction: The Irrigation Guide provides technical information and procedures that can be used for successful planning, design, and management of irrigation systems. It is a guide only and does not imply or set Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) policy. The Irrigation Guide includes current information and technical data on irrigation systems and hardware, automation, new techniques, soils, climate, water supplies, crops, tillage practices, and farming conditions. Included are irrigation related technical data for soils and irrigation water requirements for crops. Planning for an irrigation system should take into account physical conditions of the site, producer resources, cropping pattern, market availability, water quantity and quality, and effects on local environment. Economics should provide the basis for sound conservation irrigation decisions, but may not be the ultimate consideration. This is because many other factors may influence final decisions.