The Senate Agriculture Committee has approved a massive five-year farm bill that would cut spending while also creating new subsidies for farmers. The legislation approved 15-5 by the panel on Tuesday includes concessions to Southern rice and peanut farmers, thanks to a new top Republican on the committee, Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran.

Cortez officials are encouraging residents to conserve water during this summer’s predicted drought. As motivation, they plan to step up enforcement of water restrictions and levy fines to repeat offenders. From May 15 until September 15 lawn watering in Cortez will be prohibited from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days per week.

In the catalog of what can go wrong in farming, drought occupies a spot near the top. Farmers can borrow money, shoulder more expensive production costs and weather low prices. They can diversify their crops to prevent disease or hail from wiping them out. They can find cattle to rebuild herds after a disastrous sudden blizzard.

The bright green alfalfa fields appear like a surreal oasis tucked into the rolling hills of desert shrubbery that extend south as far as the eye can see. Here, 12 miles southwest of Towaoc, the Ute Mountain Ute Farm & Ranch Enterprise cultivates 7,600 acres of farmland thanks to a ribbon of water that flows south from McPhee Reservoir 50 miles to the north.

The state House Tuesday passed a bipartisan resolution to protect Colorado’s water supply and recognize the benefits irrigated agriculture provides to Colorado. “We want to make sure we protect water, it’s a precious resource,” said Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono. “Water is the lifeblood of our state.

A summer weather forecast released this morning by AccuWeather finds that while much of the eastern half of the USA should see cooler and wetter conditions than last summer, the West will bear the brunt of this summer's drought and heat.

A number of water bills introduced by Sen. Mary Hodge have been signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population.