Dan Thelander, another farmer in the area, said that since CAP imposed water restrictions in 2022, he has only been able to use about half of the 6,000 acres his company farms to grow cotton, alfalfa and durum wheat.<\/p>\n
The cuts have pushed him to try alternative crops. As an experiment for Bridgestone Tire, his company started growing guayule, a woody desert shrub that produces a natural latex.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have hopes that it will turn into a commercial crop,\u201d Thelander said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t irrigate it, it just kind of sits there and survives like a cactus would.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federal crop insurance is the reason he\u2019s still in business at all, he said. With little hope of water returning, he\u2019s ready to sell some of his property.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome land that we own is under option to be purchased by a solar company, and we\u2019re definitely hoping that they exercise their option,\u201d Thelander said.<\/p>\n
The fight continues<\/p>\n
Recipients of Colorado River water are divided into two categories: upper basin and lower basin. The former, the states above Lake Powell, do not face mandatory restrictions. But California and Nevada, Arizona\u2019s lower-basin partners, do.<\/p>\n
Nevada filed a lawsuit last week challenging the federal plans and asking a court to block their implementation.<\/p>\n