U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández

From the Office of U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, U.S. Reps Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.03), David G. Valadao (R-CA-22) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01) introduced the Support Water-Efficient Strategies and Technologies Act (WEST) Act (H.R. 5764) to support agriculture practices more commonly used in Western arid climates.

This bipartisan bill would allow the USDA Secretary to increase cost shares to 85 percent for Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (EQIP) practices that support water-conserving and drought-resilient programs. It would also make perennial production systems eligible for supplemental payments within the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Further, it would strengthen the USDA soil health program by allowing the Secretary to conduct outreach on the program and offer payments for soil testing.

“For generations, farmers and ranchers in New Mexico have been conserving water and growing drought-resilient crops in arid climates. Their crops feed our families and are distributed across America’s tables,” Rep. Leger Fernández said. “However, we learned during our ‘Farm-to-Congress’ conversations that USDA conservation programs are sometimes targeted for wetter conditions found in the East and Midwest. This bill will help these essential programs work better for Western farmers and ranchers. I thank Congressman Valadao and Congresswoman Pingree for joining me in introducing the Support the WEST Act to support programs that help retain and conserve water. Our ranch and farming communities in the West deserve the same opportunities as those in other parts of our beautiful country. I am committed to getting this in the Farm Bill and across the finish line.”

“Our farmers and producers in the Central Valley supply a quarter of our nation’s food and the majority of our nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables,” Congressman Valadao said. “Nearly all of our farmers in California have learned how to navigate drought conditions and unfair water allocations, and they know better than anyone how to conserve water and grow drought-resilient crops. The WEST Act would support the agriculture practices more commonly used in dry areas, so that our farmers have the resources they need to continue growing the food that feeds the nation.”

“I’m eager to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help farmers who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Like my landmark Agriculture Resilience Act, this bipartisan bill will strengthen USDA’s soil health programs, Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (EQIP) to boost water conservation and drought resilient agriculture,” Pingree said, a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee. “I am hopeful we’ll be able to include this commonsense, win-win legislation in the next Farm Bill.”

“We appreciate the continued work by Congresswoman Leger Fernández to improve farm bill programs so that they better meet the needs of New Mexico’s producers”, New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau President Larry Reagan said. “The Support the WEST Act highlights the importance of supporting and deploying water conservation programs on our working lands and expands that opportunity for producers.”

“Western landscapes have an amazing potential to improve the water cycle and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change,” says Chad Franke, President of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. “The Support Water-Efficient Strategies and Technologies Act of 2023 will create important incentives to fight aridification, increase water holding capacity in soils, and enable agricultural producers to better steward our most precious resource, water. This act recognizes the variability within agriculture throughout our country and provides the ability to utilize practices that work in the arid West. We thank Representative Leger Fernández for bringing forward this vital bill.”

“As a Native Indigenous woman leading the largest cooperative & network of sustainable and regenerative farmers and ranchers in the state of New Mexico we understand the sacredness of our limited water resources that all life depends on. “Water is life”, Agri-Cultura Cooperative Network has in practice and is in support of efforts that support water conservation and healthy soil practices.” Helga Garza said, the Executive Director of Agri-Cultura Network.

This bill is supported by: 

• New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, 
• Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, 
• New Mexico Food & Agriculture Policy Council, 
• Western Landowners Alliance, 
• Agri-Cultura, 
• Farm to Table, 
• New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts, 
• New Mexico Black Farmers and Ranchers, 
• NM Healthy Soil Working Group, 
• New Mexico Acequia Association, 
• FoodCorps, and 
• Farmington Municipal School Food Service.