Agricultural Pump Market Research

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) contracted with Resource Innovations to conduct a market research study that explored the applicability of current Extended Motor Products (XMP) – Pumps program knowledge and intervention activities to the Northwest agricultural irrigation pump market.  

Between January and September 2025, Resource Innovations conducted a review of relevant documents and materials, followed by primary data collection through in-depth interviews with manufacturers’ representatives, specifying engineers, contractors, and end-users of agricultural pumps in the Northwest. In addition, publicly available datasets were analyzed for the study to assess and refine projections regarding market trends and agricultural irrigation acreage identified in NEEA’s 2013 Northwest Agricultural Irrigation Market Characterization and Baseline Study.  

The current study found that efficient pumping brings a great opportunity to lower costs, improve yield, and improve the quality of life for farmers across the Northwest. However, findings show that the upfront cost of new, more efficient technology is a barrier to adoption. Additionally, although efficient technology exists, farmers, contractors, and specifiers need help understanding how the benefits of efficient pumping apply to their applications to improve confidence in the reliability of newer pumping technologies. To address these challenges, the study recommended strategies to offset the high upfront cost and close knowledge gaps to help Northwest farmers save time and energy. Finally, the study largely validated NEEA’s 2013 Market Characterization findings and projections, although irrigated agricultural acreage is lower than originally predicted. It also identified limited agricultural land and water availability and increasing competition for these resources as an emerging market dynamic.