In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) – With drought, climate change and overuse of the Colorado River leading to increasingly dire conditions in the West, the federal Bureau of Reclamation is looking at fallowing as a way to cut water use.

That means idling farmland, with payments to major users to make it worthwhile.

That has farmers primarily in California’s Imperial Valley and Arizona’s Yuma Valley weighing the possibility. Many are reluctant.

They say it threatens economic harm not just to them but also to rural communities reliant on farming as an economic engine.

Despite the reluctance, there’s a growing sense that fallowing needs to be part of efforts to conserve the region’s water.

Read the full story on AP News right here.

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3/3/2023 11:02:22 AM (GMT -6:00)