In dry West, farmers balk at idling land to save water

“Farming is just like any other business,” Brierley said. “They’ve got capital invested, they’ve got employees, they’ve got markets for their products. You can’t just farm part of the time and not the rest.” A failed proposal from Yuma County farmers last year showed how difficult it may be for federal officials and the farmers they’ve targeted to reach a deal. In that case, the farmers proposed the government pay them around $1,500 per acre-foot of water not used for four years, but the deal went nowhere.