Crops like alfalfa that feed cows are the biggest user of the Colorado River, to satisfy our cravings for nachos and burgers. Cutting back on farms' water use is the biggest way we can live in a drier West. One Indigenous farm manager is trying to do it — to grow food with much less water. His story reveals how to get other farms to be more efficient, too, in part by changing what and how they grow.
For more CPR News coverage of the Colorado River, visit cpr.org/parched.
Host: Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Written by Michael Elizabeth Sakas
Editors: Erin Jones, Joe Wertz
Production and Mixing: Emily Williams
Theme song by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Executive Producers: Kevin Dale, Brad Turner
Additional Editorial Support: Kibwe Cooper, Jo Erickson, Rachel Estabrook, Chuck Murphy, Taylar Dawn Stagner, Andrew Villegas
Thanks also to Sarah Bures, Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Arielle Wilson.
Parched is a production of the Climate Solutions team of CPR News and Colorado Public Radio’s Audio Innovations Studio — part of the NPR Network.
Colorado River Indian Tribes Farm Manager Joshua Moore, February 22, 2023. This farm and many others on the reservation in a fertile valley between Parker and Blythe, California, depend entirely on irrigation from the Colorado River.
Pre-dawn stillness on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation, Arizona, February 22. 2023. Farms on the reservation in a fertile valley between Parker and Blythe, California, depend entirely on irrigation from the Colorado River.
Harvesting alfalfa on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Farm south of Parker, Arizona, February 22. 2023. This farm and many others on the reservation in a fertile valley between Parker and Blythe, California, depend entirely on irrigation from the Colorado River.
Moving sheep beside a canal carrying Colorado River water on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Farm south of Parker, Arizona, February 22. 2023. This farm and many others on the reservation in a fertile valley between Parker and Blythe, California, depend entirely on irrigation from the Colorado River.
An irrigation canal on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Farm, February 22, 2023. This farm and many others on the reservation in a fertile valley between Parker and Blythe, California, depend entirely on irrigation from the Colorado River.
