Mexico to Release Rio Grande Water, Offering Temporary Relief to South Texas Farmers

Mexico plans to release 202,000 acre-feet of water into the Rio Grande, offering temporary relief to South Texas farmers as Congress advances the PERMIT Act.

NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD-TV) — U.S. farmers along the Rio Grande are seeing some relief after years of scarce water deliveries from Mexico. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says Mexico plans to release 202,000 acre-feet of water this week. It should help ease the strain on South Texas farmers struggling to sustain crops such as cotton, milo, and hay.

Past water gaps have led to mounting debt. While this delivery offers hope, many farmers warn it is not a total solution to their ongoing water challenges.

Lawmakers recently offered some support on agricultural water supplies. The House passed the PERMIT Act, a bill aimed at reducing regulatory hurdles for land that can revert to wetlands during drought or other periods of inactivity.

“Under the current five-year window, pauses that ranchers and farmers might take can often revert to wetlands, triggering EPA oversight that locks out grazing,” explained Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ. “My amendment protects these parcels so they can return to production when conditions improve, without fear of federal reclamation.”

The Permit Act also provides exemptions for stormwater and pesticide discharges on farmland to ease compliance while maintaining protections for U.S. waterways.

Related Stories
A U.S. Federal District Court upheld an Arizona rancher’s legal complaint against the Biden Administration’s decision to halt construction on a U.S.-Mexico border wall violated environmental law and the plaintiff’s property rights.
RanchHER Sarah Kieckhefer joined the Market Day Report on Tuesday morning to discuss the new episode of the show featuring her, which premieres tonight only on RFD-TV.
Proud Cajun RanchHER Julie Trahan runs West Hackberry Cattle Company with her husband, Mark, deep in Louisiana’s coastal marshes.
The German company Constellr is part of the John Deere Start-Up Collaborator Program in 2024. It plans to launch a geothermal satellite next year that will give farmers and ranchers better tools to monitor surface temperature from space.
Digital contracts are becoming more common for farmers and ranchers, which means some unique legal issues might arise. RFD-TV’s farm legal expert Roger McEowen briefly examines those.
The IRS recently issued its 2024 guidance on the extended replacement period for drought (and other weather-related) livestock sales. RFD-TV Ag Legal & Tax expert Roger McEowen discusses the IRS’ extension of the replacement period for livestock sold due to weather-related conditions.
“I think there’s a number of attributes of the Southern Plains that have been very attractive. One is land availability, the ability to grow feed on that land”
FarmHER Moriah Hunter joined us Tuesday on Market Day Report to share what it was like having the FarmHER crew visit her hay and beef operation, Hunter Creek Farms, in La Grange, Ky.