Senators urge USDA to improve drought support for Western growers
Despite early storms and precipitation this fall, drought conditions show no sign of reprieve in the Western U.S. headed into 2023. As the West braces for another year of drought and tightening water restrictions, a bipartisan group of 14 senators led by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney is urging the USDA for federal assistance.
“The American West is in crisis. Across the major basins of the American West — including the Colorado River Basin, the Rio Grande Basin, the Great Basin, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, the Columbia River Basin, and the Arkansas-White-Red Basin — farm and ranch families hang in the balance as they grapple with a 22-year mega-drought,” the group said in a letter to the USDA. “The acute shortage of water for Western growers threatens productive farmland across our states, which are both a pillar of our rural economies and drivers of America’s food production.”
Lost food production associated with water cutbacks resulted in an estimated $1.2 billion in lost profits, payroll and taxes in 2022 alone, an increase of 42% from last year, according to a recent study by the University of California, Merced and the Public Policy Institute of California, commissioned by California’s Department of Food and Agriculture. An estimated 19,420 California farm positions were cut because of the drought.
“California is no stranger to drought, but this current drought has hit really hard in some of the typically water-rich parts of the state that are essential for the broader state water supply,” John Abatzoglou, UC Merced professor and a co-author of the report, said in a news release.
Related: Western Growers spotlights California’s historic drought in new documentary series
In their letter to the USDA, senators sought federal support for Western farmers and ranchers to conserve water, improve water infrastructure and efficiency, protect lands at risk of erosion and provide technical assistance for growers affected by drought.
“American farmers and ranchers manage over 895 million acres of ground in the United States, giving them a vital role in combating climate change risks while continuing to feed America,” the senators said in the letter. “Congress funded $20 billion for USDA agriculture conservation programs. We believe USDA should allocate these funds for agriculture conservation equally across the country to reflect the contribution of every region, including the West.
“Many of these practices, like water conservation, cover crops and restoration of western range lands’ drought resilience, provide multiple benefits such as enhanced soil carbon storage and would be eligible for various new funding sources,” the letter continued. “Other infrastructure projects such as irrigation water efficiency may be better suited to funding streams provided to USDA through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or through other USDA programs.”
Joining Bennet and Romney as signatories on the letter are Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Mike Lee, Ben Ray Luján, Dianne Feinstein, John Hickenlooper, Mark Kelly, Martin Heinrich, Ron Wyden, Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez Masto, Alex Padilla, Jeff Merkley, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.
