PORTLAND, OR-- A new group of ag organizations hopes to tackle drought concerns threatening their livelihood and our food supply. Members of the newly formed Oregon Agricultural Water Alliance include the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Cattleman’s Association, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, Oregon Water Resources Congress and Jeff Stone’s group, the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

Stone says extreme, recurring drought threatens them all, "Since the state is so diverse, in terms of water availability versus the type of farming, we try to speak with a common voice to make sure a drought doesn’t disproportionately impact one segment of agriculture versus another." He tells KBND News, "Snowpack no longer really is our great savior for continued water supply. We have to look at rainfall and capturing that rainfall. And, there are a lot of multiple uses for water, so I think we can look and say, ‘what are things that we can do in order so there wouldn’t be a water war?’"

He hopes the new alliance will eventually impact state law and provide accountability in decision-making, "Water should be bipartisan. It should not care who the Governor is or who is in charge of the legislature."