Irrigation

The water conservation pilot will use state money to compensate farmers who temporarily stop irrigating some of their land. It aims to launch by April, but some hurdles remain.

Utah and other Western states are putting a lot of effort and money into improving irrigation efficiency. It’s not clear, however, how big of a dent it makes when it comes to keeping water in the Colorado River.

Utah is launching a new multimillion-dollar program that pays farmers to leave their irrigation water in the Colorado River — and tracks where that saved water ends up.

Farm irrigation uses a lot of water across the West. In one Utah community, however, farmers already grow crops without any irrigation. It might seem like an answer to the state's water woes, but the reality is not so simple.

Alfalfa dominates Utah farm fields. It also takes a lot of irrigation. So, some farmers and ranchers in Utah’s Colorado River Basin are experimenting with alternative crops that might help agriculture diversify and survive in a future with less water.

Replacing lawns with desert plants could help save water in drier parts of Utah, such as Washington County. But the shift can be daunting. The Parade of Gardens Southern Utah hopes to change that.

Between drought, climate change and competition for the Colorado River, Utah faces a precarious water future. Roughly three-fourths of the state’s water goes to agriculture and Utah is investing millions to help farmers and ranchers modernize their irrigation.

Many farmers across the Mountain West grow alfalfa, which is dried into hay and fed to beef and dairy cattle. But it requires a lot more water than most crops.

Utah is making it easier to move water between places that have extra and places that need more.

The next drought is always right around the corner in Utah, even in the middle of an especially wet year.

A new survey of farmers and ranchers found they mainly trust local agencies and have not taken much advantage of state and federal payout programs.

The System Conservation Pilot Program is ready to spend additional millions from the Inflation Reduction Act to save water in the agriculture industry through 2024.