Hickenlooper, Bennet, Caraveo, Colleagues Welcome $400 Million to Combat Historic Western Drought

Funding announcement comes after lawmakers urged USDA to act

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet, Martin Heinrich, and Jeff Merkley and Representatives Yadira Caraveo and Gabe Vasquez welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement of $400 million to address drought through investments at the irrigation district scale in 12 states across the West.

Farmers who participate in USDA's Water Saving Commodity Program will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining their production. The funding will help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The new program, coupled with investments from the Western Water Framework, will support innovative measures for water conservation while building resilience for long-term agricultural production in Colorado and the West.

Colorado's Palisade Irrigation District was selected for the innovative funding.

Last April, Hickenlooper and his colleagues sent a letter urging the Biden administration to make further investments to address long-term drought caused by climate change.

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