Thanks in part to a recent agreement to avoid a water curtailment, Idaho’s most famous crop could have a better yield than expected.
The Surface Water Coalition (SWC) recently announced that an agreement between the agency and groundwater districts in southeastern Idaho will avoid decisions that could impact the state’s crops, including potatoes.
According to the AgWest Farm Credit Monthly Market Update report for July, 330,000 acres of potato crops in eastern Idaho are now “more manageable” thanks to the water agreement.
All of the potato crops in the Northwest U.S. are on track for a decent year, the report stated.
“As of June 1, 2024, U.S. potato storage reached 66.8 million cwt, a 19% increase from the previous year and the highest since 2019,” the report detailed. “In the Northwest, potato storage on June 1 rose by 27.5% compared to last year. Potatoes grown in the Columbia Basin, Washington, had favorable growing conditions, but due to processor cutbacks, there are fewer planted acres. While 2024 acres are only down slightly from the large 2023 crop, weather issues in Idaho will make the 2024 potato crop more manageable. Even with a smaller crop, open market prices are unlikely to be affected and are forecasted to remain below breakeven levels.”
Had a water agreement not been reached, the report stated, the season “would have been devastating for farmers with existing potato acres.”
According to the SWC, it “forgave over 55,000 acre-feet of water that was owed as a result of prior breaches of the 2016 Mitigation Plan by three groundwater districts and 12,000 of additional groundwater district reductions required by [the Idaho Department of Water Resources] this year.” The agency stated the move was made in “good faith” in the hope that future negotiations would lead to a long-term mitigation plan that is required to be finalized before Oct. 1 of this year.
“Despite all of the efforts that have been made since the 2016 Mitigation Plan was signed, the [Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer] continues to see declining aquifer levels, declining spring discharges and declining reach gains into the Snake River, which are the source of supply to the SWC senior water rights,” said Jay Barlogi, general manager of the Twin Falls Canal Co. “While we have empathy for our groundwater counterparts because we understand the pain that comes with a water shortage, uncertainty remains concerning future agreements when some junior water right users chose not to follow the 2016 Stipulated Mitigation Plan that we all agreed to nearly 10 years ago.”
Barlogi said the SWC is looking to restore the aquifer, protect the rights of private property owners and uphold the state’s constitution throughout the coming negotiations.
“The next few months will be intense,” he said. “However, I am hopeful that we will come to an agreement that works for all parties and for Idaho and avoids injury to senior surface water rights into the future.”
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