WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet, Deb Fischer called on U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry leaders to address long-term drought in the upcoming Farm Bill, along with 14 bipartisan Senate colleagues.
“Drought remains a severe risk for American farmers and ranchers and threatens farmland and local economies that rely on dwindling water resources. We must ensure that any multi-year Farm Bill adequately addresses the heightened production risks posed by a hotter, drier future,” wrote Hickenlooper and the senators.
The natural patterns of droughts have become more frequent, severe, and longer because of our changing climate. Since 2000, the American West has experienced some of the driest conditions on record, and the American Southwest continues to suffer an unprecedented period of extreme drought.
“We urge the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee…to consider these risks…The farmers and ranchers in our states are counting on a multi-year Farm Bill that provides support to conserve water, improve watershed scale planning, upgrade water infrastructure, protect land from erosion, and create long-term resiliency on changing landscapes for growers in drought-affected regions,” concluded the senators.
In August 2022, Hickenlooper played an instrumental role passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which secured $4 billion to address drought in the American West by funding water conservation, habitat restoration and drought mitigation efforts.
The text of the letter is available HERE.
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