An eastern Idaho crop advisor has launched a web application designed to help farmers in the region monitor their groundwater usage and meet reporting requirements under a statewide water mitigation agreement, as the area enters a second consecutive dry year with water supplies already stretched thin.

A Tool Born From Drought

McKay Anderson, a crop advisor with Valley Ag in Rexburg, released the Ag Water Tracker web app approximately two weeks ago, according to reporting by EastIdahoNews.com. The app allows farmers to log meter readings from their wells, track real-time usage against their water allocation, and automatically submit monthly reports to their local groundwater district via email.

“The grower can go to their meter and input their meter readings,” Anderson told EastIdahoNews.com. “Not every farmer is going to their well every day, but they have people who are. The app allows multiple users to sync to a single account. Once a month, it will automatically send those readings to their water district through email.”

Anderson said he began developing the app last year after observing many of his clients come close to or exceed their water allotments during a hot, dry summer. He sells chemicals and fertilizers to growers across eastern Idaho and described the tool as a practical response to the financial and regulatory pressures farmers are navigating.

“I’m trying to help my growers any way I can,” Anderson said. “They’re my friends, and I saw a need and thought, Let’s try and help these guys out.”

Why Tracking Matters

The reporting requirement driving demand for the app stems from a 2024 water mitigation agreement covering groundwater users in the region. The agreement provides what Anderson described as a “safe harbor,” protecting wells from being shut off by the Idaho Department of Water Resources — a consequence that had been threatened in prior years for users who exceeded their allotments.

In exchange for that protection, the agreement requires groundwater users to track their usage and submit monthly meter readings to their local groundwater district. The current 2026 irrigation season marks the third year of the four-year plan, which is set to be renegotiated in 2027.

Anderson warned that farmers who exceed their allotment this summer face a significant consequence: no water allocation the following year. That stakes-raising reality, combined with two consecutive dry winters, has left many growers on edge heading into the irrigation season.

Canal and reservoir systems are running low, and the lack of snowpack this winter means surface water supplies are also insufficient, Anderson said. The water shortage also eliminates opportunities to recharge the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer — a legal requirement for groundwater users under Idaho law during periods of shortage, which adds further pressure to an already strained situation.

Farmers Adjusting Operations

The water shortage is already reshaping planting decisions across eastern Idaho. Adam Young, a board member with the Bingham Groundwater District who farms approximately 2,600 acres outside Blackfoot, said last month he has had to scale back his operation. Young eliminated roughly 100 acres of planted land to conserve water and enrolled an additional 22 acres in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, known as CREP, which compensates landowners for removing environmentally sensitive acreage from agricultural production.

Anderson said such adjustments are widespread and carry downstream economic consequences. Fewer planted acres mean less demand for fertilizer and chemicals — products Anderson himself sells — creating a ripple effect through the agricultural supply chain.

“Crop prices are not good. Farming, right now, is not a good situation. A lot of times it just doesn’t pencil — they’re losing money,” Anderson said.

Practical Limits and Broader Stakes

Anderson acknowledged that introducing a new tool during a period of financial stress is not straightforward. Many farmers are stretched thin, and asking them to adopt new technology requires education and outreach. Still, he said the app can serve as valuable documentation if farmers ever need to defend their water rights.

Water allocation disputes in eastern Idaho have a lengthy legal history, and having verifiable usage data could prove meaningful in those contexts. Governor Brad Little recently vetoed several bills following the Legislature’s adjournment, including measures with fiscal implications, underscoring ongoing tensions over resource management across state government.

The 2026 irrigation season is now underway, with groundwater pumping beginning earlier than normal due to dry conditions. Anderson said he is continuing to promote the Ag Water Tracker to farmers throughout the region and is offering it as a free resource for those who want to use it.

Eastern Idaho’s agricultural sector, which relies heavily on both surface water and groundwater from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, is among the state’s most economically significant industries. How farmers and water managers navigate this season’s shortage could have implications well beyond the current year — particularly as the 2024 mitigation agreement heads toward renegotiation in 2027.