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A plan to help shore up the depleted Colorado River by cutting off water<\/a> to alfalfa fields in California\u2019s crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support from the farmers who grow it.<\/p>\n The Imperial Irrigation District \u2014 the biggest user of water from the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river \u2014 has offered to pay farmers to shut off irrigation to forage crops including alfalfa for up to 60 days during the peak of the sweltering summer<\/a>. While farmers often balk at the idea of letting fields lie fallow, at least 80% of properties eligible for the new program have been signed up to participate, said Tina Shields, the district\u2019s water department manager.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t like to do fallowing down here,\u201d Shields said. \u201cThey\u2019re making business decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n The move comes as farmers of alfalfa and other crops that feed cattle have seen the price of hay plummet amid rising supply. For many, that means a summer crop of alfalfa could bring in less in revenue than the $300 in federal funding per acre-foot of water that the water district is willing to fork over if they simply stop watering it, experts said.<\/p>\n From California to Arkansas, farmers have reported a stellar year for hay and many are scrambling to find buyers or deciding whether it\u2019s worth paying to store it, said Sue Arnold, executive director of the Ohio-based National Hay Association.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a lot more hay than they typically have this time of year so their barns are full,\u201d she said of the organization\u2019s members. \u201cThey\u2019re scared, \u2018I am going to have all this inventory.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Hay exporters are struggling with the strong U.S. dollar and some overseas markets are willing to take a lower quality product than the top notch hay grown in the United States, especially in the Imperial Valley, Arnold said.<\/p>\n The idea to pay the farmers to halt irrigation arose last year as part of an\u00a0agreement<\/a>\u00a0among Arizona, Nevada and California to aid\u00a0the dwindling Colorado River,<\/a>\u00a0which provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes \u2014 and saw water levels decline during a punishing drought.<\/p>\n Under the plan, the federal government agreed to spend $1.2 billion for users to temporarily scale back their water use. The goal was to conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026 \u2014 with more than half of those cuts coming from California \u2014 when current guidelines for how the river is shared expire.<\/p>\n The Imperial Irrigation District, which is California\u2019s biggest user of Colorado River water, drafted the voluntary program for farmers to temporarily stop watering Alfalfa, Bermuda grass, or Klein grass in the summer \u2014 crops that can withstand going dry for a short while. The idea is to do so when yields are already down in summer, more water is required and dairies tend to keep their number of head low.<\/p>\n The district had proposed to roll out the program in the spring but faced delays over environmental concerns including the fate of the tiny, endangered\u00a0desert pupfish<\/a>, which thrives on irrigation runoff. Environmental approvals are still pending but the district opted to sign up takers for the program now to save time, Shields said.<\/p>\n So far, the program has applications from about 170 different businesses covering nearly 160,000 acres (64,750 hectares) of fields, which could conserve about 215,000 acre feet of water, she said.<\/p>\n Trevor Tagg, a hay farmer in the Imperial Valley, is among many opting for the program. He said alfalfa prices have plummeted in the past two years as supply has risen and farmers are left with little choice but to keep growing on fields hoping that prices rise in the future. He said he and many others sat down and did the math \u2014 what the water district is offering is a better shot than what he can get cutting the crop right now.<\/p>\n A couple of years ago, he said a ton of hay could command $400 but might now only fetch $100.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pendulum is swinging really hard,\u201d he said. \u201cThings have been really tough. You are seeing farms on the brink of bankruptcy \u2014 many, many of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Tough times force farmers to make difficult choices and turning off the water for a month or two is seen as a better option than fallowing fields for longer and walloping the local economy, where equipment suppliers and local restaurants also depend on farming for their livelihoods. About a quarter of Imperial County\u2019s farm production comes from field crops, according to a county agricultural report.<\/p>\n \u201cIt keeps us farming for another day,\u201d Tagg said. \u201cIt supports the river, it supports Lake Mead. It supports everything we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not perfect for anybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter: <\/strong>CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. 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