One of the concepts which could come before the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session might be a proposal to refine Nevada water law to make it possible for conservation easements to be applied to groundwater.  To accomplish this as a workable system, state conservation easement law would need to be updated to provide for addition of water rights in the section of statutes that deal with conservation easements and state water law would need to be amended to make “nonuse” of groundwater to be considered as a beneficial use.

This was addressed by Debbie Leonard in her response to the questions by the Nature Conservancy.

“Nevada’s conservation easement statute is based on the model form and does not explicitly allow for the protection of groundwater resources in situ. Because Nevada water law requires beneficial use of groundwater to avoid forfeiture or abandonment, I believe a statutory change is necessary to ensure a groundwater conservation easement serves its intended conservation purposes.”

Leonard’s paper also covers the need for changes to state water law in order for “retired” water rights to be kept as “retired” and not be re-appropriated in the future.

Nevada Farm Bureau’s current policy does support retirement of water rights in order to address over-appropriated and over-pumped groundwater basins.  This was a reason that Farm Bureau supported the unsuccessful effort to pass SB 176 in the 2023 Legislative Session.  The language of SB 176 did put in place the language which would have prevented “retired” water rights from being re-appropriated but did not make non-use a beneficial use.

While Farm Bureau’s focus is on rebalancing over-appropriated and over-pumped basins, the possible direction of a groundwater conservation easement might not be limited to basins within these types of parameters.

We hope discussions of future Farm Bureau policy positions will include specific conversations on whether our organization’s direction will cover “nonuse” being included as a “beneficial use.”

Kevin Lussier, chair of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Young Farmer and Rancher Committee testified this week before the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade, urging that action be taken this year to pass a bi-partisan, modernized Farm Bill.  The Hawthorne, FL dairy producer noted the necessary investment that the country needs to make in assisting the next generation of farmers and ranchers.  Lussier called attention to the need for increasing access to credit and enhancing risk management programs, specifically oriented for young and beginning farmers and ranchers.

While the House Agriculture Committee has passed a marked-up Farm Bill, the Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to do more than provide outlines of provisions that might be included in their proposal.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) has launched an Action Request effort to engage Farm Bureau members in a campaign to promote the continuation of AM Radio receivers in new model vehicles.  This project is in cooperation with the National Association of Broadcasters and the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.

We encourage Farm Bureau members to click on the Action Request link above and send your email message to your elected members of Congress, letting them know how important AM Radio is to you.

It isn’t as easy as it should be, but in spite of the decision that USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service made to no longer provide the July Cattle Inventory Report, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Economist Bernt Nelson has rigged up a work-around to share this Market Intel summary 

on beef market expectations.

“Domestic demand for beef is still strong,” Nelson writes, “but tight supplies will continue to drive up grocery store prices through 2025, which will drive down consumer demand for beef, according to USDA forecasts.”

June is Dairy Month, and the Nevada Dairy Farmers and Dairy Council of Nevada are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s celebration a huge success.  We encourage you to make a visit to this site to find out for yourself the details.

It might be a little early, but for those interested in participating in a Regenerative Agriculture workshop, you will want to get July 26^th on your calendar and you will also want to get yourself registered Valley, NV) and will feature the first half day (around 9 to Noon) “in the field” and visiting the Fulstone Ranch in Smith Valley.  Emily Fulstone will be covering her experiences in the operations of their family’s Vermicompost and Worm House operations.  

The link above will provide an outline of the planned activities for this session and also gives you the opportunity to register for the event, which has a $40 registration fee.

Nevada Farm Bureau policy states: “We support educational sessions and workshops for the purpose of helping in understanding regenerative agricultural practices and principles.”  

Anyone interested in getting first-hand insights from those who are implementing regenerative agricultural concepts in their farming operations will want to take advantage of this program.  Mark your calendars, get yourself registered and plan to be in Smith Valley on July 26^th!