Agriculture

Irrigators in Northwest Colorado are facing a sea change in how they use their water, and many ranchers are greeting such a shift with reluctance and suspicion.

A group of ranchers is helping scientists learn more about what happens to pastures that receive less irrigation water.

As climate change brings warmer weather, Westerners are looking for ways to protect the region’s rivers and streams. In a special report for the Water Desk, Jerd Smith of Fresh Water News explains a strategy for safeguarding Colorado’s Yampa River.

Farm water is critical to Colorado’s effort to balance a growing population with a water system stressed by drought and climate change.

Part of a series by Aspen Journalism, KUNC, KJZZ and The Nevada Independent exploring how investors are banking on the West’s water scarcity.

Scientists fear that eventually the toxic residue of more than a century of agricultural runoff will be blown into the air — and into the lungs of residents.

A new book looks at the Golden State’s history to understand its current water crisis.

Nearly one year after the state ordered Yampa River water users to begin measuring their diversions from the iconic river, local community groups have raised more than $200,000 to help cash-strapped ranchers and others install the devices needed to comply with the law.

A $1 million science experiment on Colorado hay fields is backed by powerful water groups, farm interests, and environmentalists.

Water managers and experts from across Colorado are investigating the feasibility of a voluntary, temporary and compensated water-use-reduction program.