As the arid landscapes of the American West face unprecedented challenges from prolonged drought and shifting climate patterns, organizations like the Family Farm Alliance (FFA), along with Western Farm Bureaus stand at the forefront of water advocacy for family farmers and ranchers. The Family Farm Alliance was founded to work to protect irrigated agriculture across 17 Western states. It has been a powerful voice in policy discussions, emphasizing collaborative solutions to water conflicts. In October 2025, the Alliance welcomed a dynamic new leader: Samantha "Sam" Barncastle, an attorney with deep roots in New Mexico's farming community. Her appointment comes at a critical juncture, as Basin states negotiate post-2026 operating guidelines for the Colorado River—a lifeline for agriculture in Arizona and beyond.

The Romero family of Rosie on the House and the Arizona Farm Bureau hosted Barncastle on the latest “Farm Fresh” hour to discuss water for agriculture and what it means to the West. The full broadcast is embedded at the bottom of this article.

Barncastle's journey to the helm of the FFA is a testament to her resilience and passion for rural advocacy. Raised in a multigenerational farm family in southern New Mexico's Mesilla Valley, she embodies the very communities she represents. Married to a farmer and mother to two young children, Barncastle balances her professional demands with hands-on farm life, often hiking in national parks to recharge. Her legal career began remarkably early; as one of the youngest attorneys licensed in New Mexico at age 23, she faced skepticism from peers and clients alike. "Early on, I had to prove myself in courtrooms dominated by seasoned lawyers," she reflects in her bio, noting how these hurdles sharpened her advocacy skills. Clerkships at the New Mexico Court of Appeals and stints at prominent water law firms honed her expertise in complex litigation involving water rights, property issues, and natural resources. In 2014, she founded Barncastle Law Firm, focusing on representing farmers, ranchers, and rural businesses. Her role as counsel to the New Mexico Senate Republicans during the 2025 legislative session further solidified her policy acumen.

These experiences shaped Barncastle's approach to rural advocacy, emphasizing practical, on-the-ground engagement. She learned that building trust requires listening to farmers' daily realities—whether it's navigating water shortages or regulatory burdens. This mindset is crucial for her role at the FFA. Balancing her executive duties with family life isn't easy; Barncastle credits flexible scheduling and her husband's support on the farm. "It's about integrating the two worlds," she says, drawing parallels between the unpredictability of farming seasons and policy negotiations. This personal connection fuels her commitment to ensuring family farms thrive, not just survive.

As Executive Director, Barncastle's top priorities align with the FFA's mission: protecting Western irrigated agriculture through balanced water policies, fostering creative partnerships, and countering threats like overregulation and urban water grabs. For Arizona and New Mexico — key states in the Colorado River Basin — she highlights the need for state-specific strategies. In Arizona, where agriculture accounts for a significant portion of water use, Barncastle advocates for incentives to improve irrigation efficiency without sacrificing production. In New Mexico, her home state, she pushes for policies that safeguard small-scale farms against larger interstate compacts. "These states share the Rio Grande and Colorado River challenges, but solutions must respect local contexts," she notes, drawing from her work as General Counsel to the Elephant Butte Irrigation District.

The FFA's emphasis on collaboration is a hallmark of Barncastle's philosophy and why she said yes to joining the organization last year. She points to successful partnerships, such as those facilitated during Rio Grande disputes, where irrigators, environmental groups, and state agencies negotiated habitat restoration alongside water deliveries. One example from her career involves mediating between farmers and regulators to implement flexible water transfers that preserved agricultural viability while meeting environmental flow requirements. "Collaboration isn't compromise, it's finding win-wins," Barncastle asserts. This approach is vital amid the biggest threats to Western irrigated agriculture: prolonged droughts, hydrologic changes causing flow reductions, and competing demands from growing cities. The FFA addresses these by lobbying for federal funding in conservation programs and promoting innovative technologies like precision irrigation and supply augmentation. As a result, Barncastle loves that today’s agriculture technology is changing for the better when it comes to food production and food security.

No issue looms larger than the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people and irrigates 5.5 million acres across seven states and Mexico. The river's importance cannot be overstated; it, along with groundwater resources, powers Arizona's nearly $31 billion agricultural economy, supporting crops like leafy greens, cotton, and alfalfa that feed the nation. Yet the Basin is in crisis: flows have declined approximately 20% since 2000, with reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell at historic lows.

Negotiations for post-2026 guidelines, following the expiration of the 2007 Interim Guidelines, are tense. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on January 9, 2026, outlining five alternatives, but Basin states remain divided. A historic governors' meeting in Washington, D.C., in late January yielded optimism but no deal, with a February 14 deadline looming and litigation risks rising.

The FFA bridges these divides by advocating for agriculture's voice, urging protections for irrigated lands in both basins.

Recent droughts have devastated family farms, forcing fallowing and economic hardship. In Arizona, Pinal County farmers lost Colorado River allocations, leading to groundwater pumping.

The FFA promotes resilience through innovations like soil moisture sensors, cover cropping, and demand management programs that compensate farmers for temporary water savings without permanent transfers.

Barncastle and others cannot overstate the importance of managed, irrigated crop land in the West. Why? According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, while irrigated land makes up less than 17% of harvested cropland in America, overall, farms with irrigation account for more than 50% of the total value of U.S. crop sales nationally. Most irrigated cropland is found in the west.

Most of the time, irrigated cropland dramatically outproduces compared to “dryland” irrigation (rain), due to the targeted nature of irrigation. Managed irrigation enables high-value, intensive crop production in regions with limited natural rainfall, leading to outsized outputs relative to land area.

Looking ahead, Barncastle envisions the Farm Family Alliance fostering partnerships between agricultural stakeholders and environmental and/or industry groups. Joint projects, such as wetland restoration using conserved ag water, could resolve conflicts while enhancing ecosystems. "We share goals: sustainable water for all," she says.

In Arizona, where the Farm Bureau champions these efforts, Barncastle's leadership offers hope. By blending legal prowess with farm-kid grit, she's poised to navigate the Colorado River's turbulent waters, ensuring family farms remain the backbone of the West. As negotiations intensify, her call for collaboration reminds us: the river's future depends on unity, not division. To hear her discussion about these important issues, select the link below.