Day: March 9, 2025

American Farmers Brace for Harm From President Trump’s Retaliatory Tariffs — The New York Times

(Gov. Polis in Phillips County touring Vision Angus family farm). Photo credit: Governor Polis’ office

Click the link to read the article on The New York Times website (Danielle Kaye). Here’s an excerpt:

March 4, 2025

Trade wars during President Trump’s first term slashed billions of dollars in U.S. agricultural exports. Farmers and trade groups expect an even bigger hit this time.

On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Finance said it would add tariffs of as much as 15 percent on a wide range of agricultural imports from the United States, including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton. Beijing’s retaliation for escalating American tariffs on Chinese-made products also includes 10 percent tariffs on imports of sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Without specifying which products, Canada said on Tuesday that it would impose retaliatory tariffs of 25 percent on $20.5 billion worth of American goods, and Mexico promised to outline its response on Sunday. President Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on products from both countries on Tuesday. Farms are a target because agricultural products account for a large portion of U.S. exports, said Lynn Kennedy, a professor of agricultural economics at Louisiana State University. Politics are probably a factor, too…As they did during the first Trump administration, the retaliatory tariffs could mean that American exports and prices paid for crops fall — as importers from China, Canada or Mexico look to Brazil or other large agricultural producers for alternatives…

China accounted for 14 percent — roughly $24.7 billion — of all agricultural goods exported from the United States in 2024, according to data from the Department of Agriculture. Mexico and Canada imported even more: about $30.3 billion worth of goods for Mexico and $28.4 billion for Canada. Mark Legan, a livestock and crop farmer in Putnam County, Ind., said Mexico was his top export market for pork and China his biggest for soybeans, which he sells to Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland plants in his area…When China started to buy more soybeans from Brazil during Mr. Trump’s first term, Mr. Legan’s income “significantly decreased,” he said. His pork exports to China also fell. This time, he’s again worried about the fallout — especially since Mexico is poised to retaliate, too.

“We are fighting an uphill battle against the tariffs, to get both soybeans and pork into those markets,” Mr. Legan said. “In agriculture, we deal with uncertainty all the time, whether it’s the weather or the health of our animals. But this adds another level of uncertainty that we’re trying to deal with the best we can.”

New Northern #Colorado reservoirs moving ahead after settlement of #NISP lawsuit — Alex Hager (KUNC.org) #PoudreRiver #SouthPlatteRiver

An artist’s rendering shows what Glade Reservoir, a key component of the Northern Integrated Supply Project would look like after construction. The project is going ahead after Northern Water agreed to settle a lawsuit by Save the Poudre for $100 million.

Click the link to read the article on the KUNC website (Alex Hager):

March 5, 2025

This story is part of ongoing coverage of water in the West, produced by KUNC in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.

A massive new reservoir project in Northern Colorado is closer to reality after its architects settled a lawsuit with an environmental group seeking to block construction. The Northern Integrated Supply Project, or NISP, will go ahead sooner than expected after a lawsuit settlement. Northern Water will pay $100 million into a trust after Save the Poudre, a nonprofit, agreed to drop its lawsuit. That money will fund river improvement projects.

The controversial water project, which will cost around $2 billion to build, has been tied up in planning and permitting for more than two decades. Advocates for the new reservoirs say it’s an important way to make sure fast-growing communities in Larimer and Weld counties have enough water for new homes and residents. Opponents worry it will take water out of a Cache la Poudre River that is already taxed by diversions for cities and farms.

…the settlement money will go into a new “Poudre River Improvement Fund.”

[…]

The fund can be used for “ecological, habitat, and recreational improvements,” including the potential creation of a “Poudre River Water Trail” from Gateway Park in Poudre Canyon to Eastman Park in Windsor. The fund will be managed by a six-person committee, three of whom will be appointed by Save the Poudre, and three by the NISP enterprise…

Proponents of the Northern Integrated Supply Project say it will help fast-growing communities along the northern Front Range keep pace with the volume of new residents. (From Northern Water project pages)

NISP would supply 15 different water providers along the northern Front Range through two reservoirs and a system of pipelines and pumps. Northern Water, the agency that would build and operate NISP, projects that it will provide water to nearly 500,000 people by 2050.

Water from the system would flow to a diverse group of towns and cities north of Denver. Small, fast-growing towns such as Erie and Windsor stand to receive some of the largest water allocations from NISP. The list also includes the Fort Collins Loveland Water District, the Left Hand Water District, which is just north of Boulder, and Fort Morgan on the eastern plains.

“These are communities that have identified the need for housing as something that will increase the quality of life,” said Jeff Stahla, a spokesman for Northern Water. “So this is an important time for us as residents to realize that we can help to solve some of the problems and some of the the challenges that we’re seeing out there on the horizon as more people choose to live here.”

Stahla said construction is expected to take off in 2026, with some pipes being laid in the summer and fall of this year. If Save the Poudre’s lawsuit was still in place, he said, construction would have begun in “2027 or even beyond.” Glade Reservoir, the centerpiece of NISP’s water storage system, would flood a valley northwest of Fort Collins that is currently home to a stretch of U.S. Highway 287 connecting Fort Collins and Laramie, Wyo. That section of road would be rebuilt further East.

Kids play in the Poudre River Whitewater Park near downtown Fort Collins on Oct. 20, 2023. The Cache la Poudre is often referred to as a “working river” because it carries a large volume of water from manmade reservoirs to cities and farms far from its banks. Photo credit: Alex Hager/KUNC

Stahla said Northern Water’s permit includes requirements to mitigate environmental impacts caused by the new reservoirs. He alluded to the fact that the river is already connected to a number of large reservoirs and its water is piped and pumped far away from its original course.

“The Poudre River has really been a working river for 150 years now,” he said. “What NISP is planning to do certainly is not the only impacts to the river that have been occurring or will occur.”

…Stahla…suggested work on diversion structures, which redirect the river’s water towards farms and water treatment plants. Stahla suggested they could be modernized… and moved further downstream to allow more water to flow through certain sections of the river.

The South Platte River Basin is shaded in yellow. Source: Tom Cech, One World One Water Center, Metropolitan State University of Denver.