Historic water cuts on Colorado River put strain on downstream farmers
It’s no news that water is scarce in the arid west. But last week marked an unprecedented moment in the history of the Colorado River and the millions of people nationwide who rely on it for drinking water, meat and vegetables. Based on historically low flows in the Colorado River, the Bureau of Reclamation–a federal […]
Farmers & Consumers join together to support healthy water resources
Last month NYFC launched the Colorado River & Western Water Pledge, an opportunity for farmers and consumers to join together to help ensure healthy water resources now and into the future. It is no question that we face significant threats to our fresh water in the west. Dwindling surface water supply matched with increasing demand, […]
Mayors, farmers across the west stand together for Colorado River Day
“Essentially if we didn’t have this river and this water, we wouldn’t have agriculture in this state [of Colorado],” says Brad Webb, a local farmer and business owner of Mesa Park Vineyards in western Colorado. Brad spoke on behalf of beginning farmers for Colorado River Day in Grand Junction, one of five events held yesterday […]
U.S. Senate tackles future of Colorado River
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing to review findings from the Colorado River Basin Study, which NYFC has been tracking closely. Speakers representing the Bureau of Reclamation, Basin states, and municipal, agricultural, and healthy flows interests presented important Study follow-up items to the […]
Introducing Jeff and Debbie, NYFC's Arizona Field Organizers
We’re pleased to welcome Jeff Meilander of Flagstaff and Debbie Weingarten of Benson/Tucson area as NYFC’s new Arizona Field Organizers! Debbie is one of the founding farmers of Sleeping Frog Farms, an extremely successful young farmer & farm education operation serving southern AZ. Jeff is a professor at Northern Arizona University and is also founder […]
Farming and water in the West: An Intro
You may be noticing our posts on water issues, or our recent Op-Ed on Colorado farmers and water conservation, and perhaps are wondering why NYFC is diving into western water. As the first of many blog posts on this topic, the following paragraphs offer some background. In most of the U.S., water is relatively abundant. […]
Colorado's young farmers ready to join Governor in conservation
Friends, please take a minute to check out my recent Op-Ed published in the Grand Junction Sentinel on Colorado River water conservation. Young farmers need to be at the forefront of the discussion of how to build a smart water future for Colorado and the Colorado River Basin! Please also note the action at the […]