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Arizona water cuts may result in slim pickings in produce aisle

Shoppers may start seeing fewer choices and lower quality produce at supermarkets, as federal water cuts take effect. 

Chelsea McGuire is with the Arizona Farm Bureau. She says state farmers are feeling the brunt of a 21% reduction of Colorado River water.

“An acre is about a football field so imagine a football field covered in a foot of water. We’re losing 592,000 of those," McGuire said.

McGuire says farmers will be forced to either rely more on groundwater supplies, or take parts of their farms out of rotation.

Water conservation efforts like growing lower water-use crops are being used, but McGuire says farmers have to balance that with in-demand and higher profit crops. 

Jill Ryan joined KJZZ in 2020 as a morning reporter, and she is currently a field correspondent and Morning Edition producer.