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Announcements Alliance testifies at April 26, 2012 House subcommittee hearing on Farm Bill conservation programs.    Click here for Patrick O'Toole's written testimony. Alliance testifies before the February 2012 House Water and Power Subcommittee oversight hearing on water surface storage.     Click here for President Patrick O'Toole's written testimony. Alliance Testimony Submitted to Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power - December 2011 Oversight Hearing on "Opportunities and Challenges to Address Domestic and Global Water Supply Issues" -   Click here for the Alliance's written testimony.   Family Farm Alliance 2011 "Activities and Accomplishments" Report. A 30 plus page summary of how the Alliance engaged on matters important to Western irrigators. Click here for the PDF version of this report. Climate Change and Western Water Resources   The Family Farm Alliance board of directors in February 2007 made climate change a priority issue for the Alliance to engage in. The Alliance in September 2007 released its climate change report, entitled “Water Supply in a Changing Climate: The Perspective of Family Farmers and Ranchers in the Irrigated West”.  The report was prepared by a climate change subcommittee, Advisory Committee members, and water resources experts from around the West. Western Water Policy - Challenges and Opportunities of Times and Our Legacy for the Next Generation  The Alliance's perspective on a new course for managing Western water issues. Developed in time to provide guidance for a new Administration in Washington. View Printable version of the executive summary brochure.

Welcome to the Family Farm Alliance Web site. We invite you to take a look around our site and find out more about our Alliance.

Alliance Mission
Defending Irrigated Agriculture

The Family Farm Alliance is a powerful advocate for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts, and allied industries in seventeen Western states. The Alliance is focused on one mission - To ensure the availability of reliable, affordable irrigation water supplies to Western farmers and ranchers.

The Family Farm Alliance is recognized as an authority on critical issues dealing with Western water policy. Our targeted focus enables us to be extremely effective.

To support our mission, we seek to:

· Impact key issues in Congress and federal and state regulatory agencies on irrigated agriculture issues.

· Build coalitions and create powerful alliances to advocate for irrigated agriculture.

· Facilitate the delivery of accurate and timely information to Congress, regulatory agencies and our members on issues which impact Western irrigators.

· Communicate with the media and the public on critical issues impacting Western irrigated agriculture.

Learn more about us....

Dan Keppen

Executive Director

Family Farm Alliance

In the News....

April 2012 Edition of the "Monthly Briefing"

As the U.S. Senate version of the new farm bill earlier this month cleared an important committee, hearings in the House of Representatives were kicked off, where expert witnesses, including the President of the Family Farm Alliance, provided input as the House prepares to write its bill. The Alliance's written testimony can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here. This story, as well as the following other topics, are covered in the April 2012 edition of the Family Farm Alliance "Monthly Briefing":

April 26, 2012 House Subcommittee Hearing Witness List
New Idaho Representative Joins Alliance Board of Directors
Alliance Board of Directors Roles and Responsibilities
Reclamation Announces New Internship Program
Age Distribution of Principal Farm Operators, 1978-2007 (USDA figure)

Salute to our Recent and Continuing Supporting Donors

 Click here to download the April '12 "Monthly Briefing" 

September 2011 Edition of the Family Farm "Water Review" 

The 2011 Irrigation Show and Innovations in Irrigation Education Conference-hosted by the Irrigation Association (IA) - is the industry event you can't afford to miss. Taking place at the San Diego Convention Center in California, November 3-8, 2011, the Irrigation Show is the only national trade show for irrigation industry professionals. The Irrigation Show features more than 300 exhibitors and 6,000 attendees, with plenty of networking opportunities for professionals from around the country. This year's Innovations in Irrigation Education Conference will offer attendees expanded educational opportunities, including new irrigation seminars, technical sessions, education classes, and certification exams. Read more about the 2011 Irrigation Show and Innovations in Education Conference in this month's edition of the Family Farm "Water Review", the Family Farm Alliance's perspective on the western water issues important to our members.

  Click here to download and print the Sept 2011 "Water Review"

Issue Alert! Deadline Looms for Public Comment on Clean Water Act Guidance

The Family Farm Alliance on June 23, 2011 transmitted a formal comment letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) on proposed Guidance Regarding Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA), referred to as "draft guidance".

The letter emphasizes the Alliance concern that CWA jurisdictional issues are uncertain, particularly in areas where Western farmers and ranchers store, move and apply water for irrigation. Section 6 of the draft guidance, which addresses "other waters" of the U.S., is particularly vague. This uncertainty brings with it the risk of additional regulations, time-consuming and potentially expensive procedures, expanded opportunities for litigation, and a shift from local and state water management towards increased federal agency regulation and oversight.

The draft guidance is seen by the Alliance and others as a "rule in disguise" and have asked that it should be withdrawn, and that EPA and the Corps commence with a transparent, formal rulemaking process.

Click here for the June 23, 2011 Alliance letter.

The comment period for the draft guidance will end July 1. The draft guidance will not be implemented until it is finalized sometime this fall. For more information on this issue, go to (http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/clean-water).

Report Describes Innovative Water Management Actions  

Taken by Western Water Users

Is there any way to prevent water wars?

• In Wyoming, ranchers are creating a model watershed that hosts a myriad of wildlife, and robust natural resources while sustaining compatible agricultural uses and a natural resource based recreational economy.
  
• In Arizona, irrigation districts are experimenting with ways to use fish instead of chemicals to control aquatic weeds in the local canal systems.
  
• In the Colorado River watershed, farmers and ranchers, conservation groups and urban water users are collaborating on plans to develop new water management systems to ensure that water transfers from rural communities will not harm those communities.
  
• On California's Sacramento River, irrigation districts are working with the federal government to install a state-of-the art fish screen to protect the habitat for endangered fish and improve water supply reliability for rice farmers and orchardists.

These are just a few examples of creative and successful ways that scientists and agricultural leaders in the Western states are working together to conserve water, develop safe and effective water markets, fix aging infrastructure problems, and restore watersheds.

These and many other examples are detailed in a new report from the Family Farm Alliance. Our report, "Western Water Management Case Studies" has been developed as a practical tool for policy makers and water users who are struggling with the complications created by a host of new rules, policies and prescriptions for water and the environment.

Download the Water Management Case Study Report (3 MB)

Download and Print the July 30, 2010 Press Release