Tag Archive for: Farmers

Opinion: California’s Imperial Valley Water Conservation Strategy Key to Saving the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Agri-Pulseby Stephen Benson Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Imperial Valley has been a senior water rights holder on the Colorado River for more than 100 years. Since our founding, our farmers, and the local Imperial Irrigation District, have long viewed our water seniority as both a property right and a responsibility. As much as we believe in upholding the rule of law, we are equally committed to being responsible water users and doing our part to keep the river healthy enough to meet the needs of all seven states. Imperial Valley farms and regional water agencies have implemented a host of conservation measures throughout the past twenty years, allowing farmers to conserve large amounts of water while still producing the food our country depends on.

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USDA Undersecretary Meets with Imperial Irrigation District

/in , , /by /KYMA, KECYby Dillon Fuhrman, Adelmi Ruiz

The Undersecretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, Robert Bonnie, privately met with the Imperial Irrigation District. The meeting started at 4:00pm Sunday and took place in El Centro.

During the meeting, Bonnie and the IID discussed the Western Water Policy and irrigation assistance to southeastern California farmers and ranchers.

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Farmers to Receive Final Conservation 2021 Payments

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller

The Imperial Irrigation District board held their regular meeting Tuesday, January 10 to finalize the 2021 payments to farmers and landowners who conserved water in a verifiable manner. The complex mathematics and tier proportion had been discussed through the year at IID meetings and IID water advisory board meetings.

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Reformist Farmers in California Are Rethinking Water

/in , , /by /NPRby Dan Charles

Reformist farmers in California have deposed the leader of the country’s biggest irrigation district, who was known for fighting water regulations. Farmers are accepting less water means less farming. A local election in rural California caught our attention last month. Farmers ousted the longtime leaders of the organization that supplies their irrigation water, which may sound small, but as Dan Charles reports, it’s a sign of something bigger – farmers reacting to a hotter climate.

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Higher Prices for Ketchup and Tomatoes? California’s Drought is Hurting Tomato Farmers

/in , /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Chase DiFeliciantonio

No matter if you’re whipping up a cacciatore, amatriciana or a homemade pizza, you’re going to need one thing: tomatoes.

But while most of the tomatoes consumed in the U.S. — fresh, canned, and otherwise — come from California, factors like the ongoing drought, rising fuel prices, and a changing climate are making the fruit harder and more expensive to grow. And that’s prompting some California farmers to consider raising other, hardier crops that require less irrigation.

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Farmers Brace for Water Cuts to Help River

/in , , /by /AgAlert (California Farm Bureau Federation)by Peter Hecht

As the Colorado River water crisis deepens amid withering drought in the West, Imperial Valley growers with historic rights to water from the river are making calculations on whether to farm or fallow.

This month, the Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies Colorado River water to farmers in America’s largest growing region for winter vegetables, joined other California water agencies in offering to take a dramatic cut in the amount of water they pull from the river.

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Water Deliveries Halted to Farmers in Oregon, California

/in , /by /AP News

The Klamath Irrigation District in southern Oregon has reversed course and now says it has complied with a U.S. government order to stop delivering water to farmers in the drought-stricken area.

The district’s directors initially defied the federal government’s order to shut off water to the Klamath Project, but the Klamath Irrigation District has since closed a canal after federal officials threatened to withhold millions in drought assistance, the Capital Press reported Wednesday.

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California Drought 2022: Two Water Districts Eye Hefty Colorado River Cuts

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sun by Janet Wilson

Two powerful Southern California water districts are actively negotiating an agreement for hefty voluntary cuts of Colorado River supply to farmers and reduced delivery of water to greater Los Angeles, as part of urgent efforts across seven states and Mexico to stave off the collapse of the drought-stricken river system that provides drinking water and irrigation for nearly 40 million people.

Responding to a June mandate from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for all those who rely on the river to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water usage within 60 days, Imperial Irrigation District and Metropolitan Water District officials are negotiating “around half a million, between 400,000 and 500,000 acre-feet” in combined reductions, IID general manager Enrique Martinez said on Monday.

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WATER 101: A Recap of Where We Are Amidst a Historic Drought

/in , , /by /Holtville Tribuneby Luis Gomez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Local farmers may soon be forced to bite the bullet and find ways to use significantly less water in 2023 — potentially for a lot longer.

This drastic measure may come as a result of an emergency water conservation effort to prevent further depletion of the Valley’s main source of water, the Colorado River. If less water flows down the Colorado River, the consequences could be catastrophic for the two reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — that feed into the so-called basin states.

For example, if water levels in Lake Mead continue dropping, it could bring water and hydropower to a grinding halt, all due to a relentless drought over two decades.

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Governor Declares Drought in Four More Oregon Counties

/in , /by /KOIN-TV by Amanda Arden

It’s been a rainy April, but prolonged drought is still impacting parts of Oregon. On Monday, Gov. Kate Brown issued drought declarations for four Oregon counties.

Deschutes, Grant, Lake and Malheur counties are the latest where the governor has declared a drought. These counties join Gilliam, Morrow, Jefferson, Crook, Harney, Klamath and Jackson counties, for which the governor declared a drought earlier in 2022.

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