Alliance President Delivers Gripping Testimony to Senate Committee

Short-term and long-term solutions to the Western drought were the topic of the June 14 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. Family Farm Alliance President Patrick O’Toole’s unscripted, heartfelt testimony about the drought’s impact to Western farmers and ranchers was a hearing highlight.

Mr. O’Toole’s family owns and operates a ranch on a headwater tributary of the Colorado River in Wyoming. Over the last 20 years, the flows of the Colorado River have been 20% below average due to a drought more severe than any in the last 1,200 years. 

“If we don’t act, we won’t have farms, and we won’t have rural communities,” he said at the hearing.  

Mr. O’Toole told the Committee that he believes water storage and improving forest health are important steps to addressing the severe ongoing drought in the West. While other witnesses testified that additional “agricultural conservation and demand management actions are needed” to shore up dwindling Colorado River supplies, he cautioned that taking water away from farms would increase the amount of food the U.S. needs to import from other countries. 

“We are about to do with agriculture what we did with manufacturing and let it go overseas,” he warned the Committee Members.  

CLICK HERE to download the PDF Version of the July 2022 “Monthly Briefing”, where you can read more about these and other important issues to Western water users:

• Alliance Director Testifies at House GOP Energy Forum
• White House Rolls Out Global Food and Water Initiatives
• Colorado River Drought Tensions Intensify: Reclamation Seeks Input on Future River Operations
• Waters of U.S. Rule Needs Clarity, Farm Groups Say
• House Passes WRDA Legislation—Senate Next
• 2022 Wildfire Season off to a Roaring Start: Forest Service Directed to Take “Bold Action”
• BOR Puts IIJA Funds to Work as Inflation Concerns Grow
• Bipartisan WIFIA Bill Will Fund Critical Infrastructure, Keep Customer Rates Affordable
• Family Farm Alliance Engagement at Upcoming Arizona Events    

Please do not hesitate to contact dan@familyfarmalliance.org if you have any difficulties downloading the July “Monthly Briefing”.