The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States
[The Imperial Valley] holds some of the oldest rights to the river’s water. Many of the district’s farmers are grandchildren of early homesteaders, and the land they farm has guaranteed use of large amounts of river water.
This allowed the Imperial County farmers to produce almost half a billion dollars’ worth of hay in 2022, according to the county’s agricultural commissioner. Some of it is used to feed nearly 400,000 cows that are raised here in the scorching desert. Significant quantities are shipped out of the valley — both domestically and overseas.
Growing that much hay takes a lot of water. But the district, like all agencies that distribute it, gets the water for free from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and charges growers only $20 for an acre-foot of water. Cheap water helps make growing hay in the Imperial Valley profitable.
The theft of land and resources that was US westward expansion leads directly into the crises we're facing today
