Biden admin. announces plan to pay Western farms to conserve water

Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Biden administration announced Thursday it will pay farmers across the Western United States to conserve water.

The Department of Agriculture announced the move Thursday, calling it "historic funding" that is expected to conserve some 50,000 acre-feet of water that would have been used across 250,000 acres of irrigated land.

"Agricultural producers are the backbone of rural communities across the West and many of them are struggling under prolonged drought conditions," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement .

"USDA is taking an 'all hands' approach to help address this challenge, including these new partnerships with irrigation districts to support producers."

The announcement comes as the U.S. Drought Monitor said 35 U.S. states are experiencing moderate or worse drought conditions this week. Nearly 81 million acres of major crops across the country were considered to be experiencing these conditions, it said, up 4.5% from last month.

Western states have been particularly hit hard due to the decade-long drought of the Colorado River, which specifically impacts Arizona and Nevada. California is also experiencing an ongoing multiyear drought.

According to the USDA, the Biden administration will invest $400 million with at least 18 irrigation districts to aid farmers in conserving water while continuing to produce crops.

Each district will receive up to $15 million in awards, which will then make sub-agreements to pay farmers for voluntarily reducing their water consumption while maintaining their production, it said.

The districts are located in Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Arizona, California, Washington, New Mexico, Wyoming, Texas, Montana, Colorado and Nevada.

"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," it said.

"USDA will learn from the diversity of strategies used and identify additional opportunities to maintain and expand water-saving commodity production in the future."