A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it
A plan to help shore up the Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California’s crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support among water managers and farmers
A plan to help shore up the depleted Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California's crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support from the farmers who grow it.
The Imperial Irrigation District — the biggest user of water from the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river — has offered to pay farmers to shut off irrigation to forage crops including alfalfa for up to 60 days during the peak of the sweltering summer. While farmers often balk at the idea of letting fields lie fallow, at least 80% of properties eligible for the new program have been signed up to participate, said Tina Shields, the district's water department manager.
“We don't like to do fallowing down here,” Shields said. “They're making business decisions.”
The move comes as farmers of alfalfa and other crops that feed cattle have seen the price of hay plummet amid rising supply. For many, that means a summer crop of alfalfa could bring in less in revenue than the $300 in federal funding per acre-foot of water that the water district is willing to fork over if they simply stop watering it, experts said.
From California to Arkansas, farmers have reported a stellar year for hay and many are scrambling to find buyers or deciding whether it's worth paying to store it, said Sue Arnold, executive director of the Ohio-based National Hay Association.
“They have a lot more hay than they typically have this time of year so their barns are full,” she said of the organization’s members. “They’re scared, ‘I am going to have all this inventory.’”
Hay exporters are struggling with
Read more on abcnews.go.com
