This document summarizes research on trends in crop water productivity across the contiguous United States between 2001-2015. An optimized water-light use model was developed using high resolution climate and vegetation index data to estimate gross primary production, net primary production, and yields for major crops. The model results show increases in water productivity for rain-fed corn and soybeans in the Midwest and irrigated/rain-fed cotton and sorghum in Texas. Declines were found for irrigated rice in California's Central Valley and Mississippi, as well as irrigated/rain-fed corn and wheat relying on the Ogallala Aquifer. The next steps involve expanding the analysis to a 30+ year global assessment from 1982-2012
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