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They said one way of reducing water usage would be to shift from water-intensive crops like alfalfa to other crops that use less.

In a study published last year, researchers found that alfalfa and other cattle-feed crops consume 46% of the water that is diverted from the river, accounting for nearly two-thirds of agricultural water use.

Glyphosate is the world's most heavily applied herbicide, used on crops including corn, soybeans, sugar beets, alfalfa, cotton and wheat.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia drew down nearly 80% of its fossil water aquifers between the 1970s and the mid-2010s to irrigate thirsty wheat, corn, and alfalfa fields.

He steered to the farmhouse and marched up the ridge of alfalfa, grown for the farm’s cattle feed.