Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest $400 million with at least 18 irrigation districts to help farmers continue commodity production while also conserving water across the West. This funding – which will support irrigation districts and producers in using innovative water savings technologies and farming practices while producing water-saving commodities in the face of continued drought – is expected to conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities.

Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia appeared at a USDA press event today in Corcoran, Calif., alongside USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, who announced the allocation of $400 million in drought funding to the Western United States.

This historic funding builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to conserve water, increase the efficiency of water use, upgrade existing infrastructure, and overall strengthen water security in the West. With historic water conservation enabled by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation announced in May 2024 it had staved off the immediate possibility of the Colorado River System’s reservoirs from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production. Due to record conservation investments as well as improved hydrology, Lake Mead levels today, at elevation 1075 feet, are the highest since May 2021, when they were at 1073 feet. The Administration is now working to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience by focusing on long-term water conservation in several basins across the west.

Agricultural producers are the backbone of rural communities across the West and many of them are struggling under prolonged drought conditions,” Vilsack said. “USDA is taking an ‘all hands’ approach to help address this challenge, including these new partnerships with irrigation districts to support producers. We want to scale up the tools available to keep farmers farming, while also voluntarily conserving water and expanding markets for water-saving commodities.”

Partnering with Irrigation Districts to Support Water Conservation, Produce Water-Saving Commodities

USDA worked to select irrigation districts based on several commodity production and water management-related criteria in order to maximize the ability to achieve program objectives, leveraging available data from the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation to ensure close alignment and partnership. USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) provided data and analysis to support the preliminary selections. Districts that have been preliminarily selected for potential inclusion in this program include:

• Black Canyon Irrigation District, Idaho
• Brooklyn Canal Company, Utah
• Central Oregon Irrigation District, Ore.
• Central Arizona Irrigation and Drainage District, Ariz.
• Corcoran Irrigation District, Calif.
• East Columbia Irrigation District, Wash.
• Elephant Butte Irrigation District, N.M.
• Glenn – Colusa Irrigation District, Calif.
• Greybull Valley Irrigation District, Wyo.
• Hidalgo & Cameron Counties Irrigation District 9, Texas
• Huntley Project Irrigation District, Mont.
• Imperial Irrigation District, Calif.
• Maricopa – Stanfield Irrigation and Drainage District, Ariz.
• Palisade Irrigation District, Colo.
• Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District, Wash.
• Solano Irrigation District, Calif.
• Sutter Mutual Water Company, Calif.
• Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, Nev.

The preliminary selected districts may receive up to $15 million each in the awards and will enter into sub-agreements with the producers participating within the district. Depending on available funding, awards to additional districts may be possible.

Producers who participate will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining commodity production. The needs of producers will determine the specific strategies for water conservation, including irrigation improvements, shifts in management practices, shifts in cropping systems, and other innovative strategies. USDA will learn from the diversity of strategies used and identify additional opportunities to maintain and expand water-saving commodity production in the future.

Participating producers and irrigation districts will commit to ensuring continued commodity production in the areas where water consumption is reduced. USDA is working to finalize agreements with the preliminarily selected districts, which will include the details of each individual district’s water-saving strategies, commodities to be produced, and specific budgets. Following the finalization of those awards, producers within the participating districts will work directly through their irrigation districts to participate. USDA and the preliminarily selected districts will provide more details on the agreements and opportunities for producers to directly enroll.

Click here to read the full press release.