COMMUNITY PRODUCER GROUPS (CPGs)

Representatives from 17 Community Producer Groups (CPGs) serve on the GWMA’s Irrigated and Dryland Agriculture Ground Water Advisory Committee.   

Defining the Community Producer Groups: 

Community Producer Groups (CPGs) are local groups of residents that are joined together by similarities in geographical areas by soil types, irrigation systems, farming practices, natural boundaries (water bodies, mountains, etc.) and communities.  Each CPG is organized around the producers within the area to provide the area with a common meeting forum to discuss issues of importance.  The logical population base or geographic location within each county names the CPG area.  There are a total of 17 CPGs:  Grant County – 9; Adams County – 3; Franklin County – 5.  See the table on the next page for a breakdown of the CPGs.

• First, growers want to show others that they are strong, organized and resolved to play a major role in determining how to reduce contamination of the aquifers.  
• Second, the CPGs foster interaction among farmers who seek the latest technology and education.  
• Third, the CPGs have become a source of information about the best management practices (BMPs) that work to reduce nitrate leaching and other environmentally sensitive issues.   

Numerous challenges face producers throughout the region.  The forum of the local CPGs provide producers the opportunity to voluntarily make changes instead of being regulated.  With voluntary implementation, growers are able to have a say in how they will address issues of concern.  Growers then have direct buy-in to the program, thus making implementation easier and more accepted. 

Community Producer Groups foster interaction between the growers of a community.  The ability of growers to discuss changing societal goals and future direction translates to changed practices in the field.  Growers are acutely in tune with the level of regulation already in place for their industry.  The opportunity to develop the use of best management practices to address potential environmentally sensitive problems is widely accepted by growers.   

The continued relationship between the Columbia Basin GWMA and the CPGs will be to serve as a mechanism for the dissemination of information relating to research/study results, work with the local grower community for voluntary implementation of best management practices and to continue to gain input relative to the needs of the local grower community.

Consumer Producer Group Locations:  (see map to the right)

Grant County CPGs

Adams County CPGs

Franklin County CPGs