Opinion: Hand wringing aside, alfalfa is here to stay
The mainstream media continues its obsession with the amount of water that goes to producing alfalfa and other important forage crops in the West. The Colorado River right now is understandably a favorite topic of environmental journalists, as state, federal and tribal decision-makers are scrambling to negotiate a long-term river operating agreement to replace the current one that expires in 2026. Those arguments were teed up again last month when the Los Angeles Times broadcast a recent study showing that agriculture is the “dominant” user of Colorado River water, “about three times the combined usage of all the cities that depend on the river”. Unfortunately, not a single Colorado River farmer or water manager was mentioned in that story.
-Written by Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance.