GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- A number of western Colorado farmers will be keeping some of their fields empty as part of a pilot program aimed at saving water.
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports that farmers with the Grand Valley Water Users Association are participating in a pilot study to help determine if it's feasible to intermittently fallow fields to save water in reservoirs. Farmers will be paid to not plant a portion of their crops.
The program comes as reservoir and snowpack levels remain low in the west. Water managers across the region are considering the new tool to help them conserve water.
The pilot program started last year with 10 farmers and is projected to save 3,200 acre-feet of water.
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