Cotton Production by California Farmers Who Receive Irrigation Water

The delivery of water to irrigators who produce surplus crops on reclamation projects has been the subject of public interest. This review is limited to the production of surplus cotton in the San Luis Unit, Central Valley Project, California. If the Secretary of Agriculture determines that an excess above the normal supply of cotton exists, the lands not irrigated prior to receipt of reclamation project water may not receive water supplied by the Bureau of Reclamation for cotton production. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to waive this limitation only if national security purposes indicate a production increase of cotton is necessary. The Department of the Interior has no legal authority to use cotton set-aside determinations in order to supply water for cotton production to the reclamation project.