LETTER: Agriculture provides plenty of useful benefits from Colorado River water

Your May 18 editorial, “Carbon, crops for cows and the Colorado River,” does a good job explaining the impact climate change is having on our water supply. Where it misses the mark is the impact farmers have on our food supply.

Up to 90 percent of the nation’s winter vegetables come from the Imperial and Yuma valleys, as well as much of the alfalfa that feeds the livestock we depend on for proteins, including milk, ice cream, cheese, meat, yogurt and more.

California, Arizona and Nevada are all working together on a plan that will stabilize the Colorado River for the next 20 years. A big part of that is on-farm water conservation, and no one has done more to conserve Colorado River water than Imperial Valley farmers.

Managing a resource such as the Colorado River that provides millions of Americans with water, power and food requires hard work, cooperation and patience, not finger-pointing.