Colorado Young Farmers Coalition Water Fellows
The Colorado Water Conservation Board projects a growing gap in water supplies specifically for agriculture. Drought, population growth, climate change all leave less water for state ag producers.
The Colorado Young Farmers Coalition says more opportunities are needed for young producers to take a more active role in water planning. It is sponsoring a group of Water Fellows who are spending the next several months training on water planning, funding opportunities and ways to train and mobilize other farmers.
Megan Davey is one of 10 Water Fellows.
DAVEY: Water is essential to everything I do, not just as a farmer but as an outdoor recreationalist too and as a person who loves living next to the mountains and loves being able to farm here. So the Fellowship seems like a really cool opportunity to get some of the knowledge and resources to educate myself that I didn’t have in order to be able to engage in some of the water issues that we face in the west.”
The idea she says is to bring back what each Fellow learns to their communities. Megan runs a vegetable farm with her partner in Southwest Colorado. She says she’ll likely run for a position with the Mancos Conservation District.
Each fellow receives a $2,500 stipend to cover the cost of their time spent in the program and running for boards or commissions.
