April 28, 2025 | Washington, D.C. — After years of mounting drought and shrinking crop yields, South Texas farmers are finally seeing hope. The Trump administration announced a new water-sharing agreement with Mexico this week, calling it a “major win” for American agriculture and a critical step toward protecting the future of farming communities along the Rio Grande.
The issue centers around a 1944 treaty between the United States and Mexico, which requires Mexico to deliver 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. over five-year periods. This water, mostly from six tributaries feeding the Rio Grande, is essential for irrigating vast stretches of farmland in Texas. However, Mexico has consistently fallen short — delivering only about 25% of its obligation with just months left in the current cycle, set to end in October 2025.
The lack of water has had devastating consequences. In the Rio Grande Valley — an area once known as the “Magic Valley” for its lush citrus groves and diverse crops — farmers have watched fields dry up, wells run low, and once-reliable crops like cotton and sugarcane vanish. Entire operations have closed. Some farmers have had to abandon generations-old family businesses.
“This has been an existential crisis for Texas farmers,” said Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “Without reliable irrigation water, it’s not just crops that are lost — it’s livelihoods, family legacies, and local economies that collapse.”
The New Agreement: “Minute 331”
Negotiators from the U.S. and Mexico worked out a new amendment to the treaty, known as “Minute 331,” giving Mexico new tools to meet its water obligations. Under this amendment, Mexico can:
Release water from large international reservoirs like Falcon and Amistad. Deliver water from additional rivers like the San Juan and Alamo, expanding beyond the original six tributaries. Relinquish part of its own water allotments to help meet the treaty quota.
The goal is to speed up water deliveries and ease the burden on South Texas farmers before the peak of the 2025 growing season.
“This was about survival for communities that depend on agriculture,” said a U.S. State Department official involved in the negotiations. “This agreement gives farmers a fighting chance.”
Economic Relief Also on the Way
Alongside the treaty amendment, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $280 million grant program targeted specifically at South Texas agricultural producers. The grants will provide direct financial assistance to farmers who suffered water shortages during the 2023 and 2024 seasons — years when reduced irrigation led to significant yield losses and forced some farms to idle large portions of their land.
For many, the economic pain wasn’t just in lost crops but in higher costs — pumping fees, emergency well drilling, or even relocating operations. The new aid package is designed to help farmers recover from those burdens.
Bigger Implications
Water shortages had become so severe that Texas leaders had warned of potential ripple effects through the entire U.S. agricultural market. If the Rio Grande Valley — which produces a significant portion of America’s onions, sugarcane, citrus, and winter vegetables — continued to suffer, grocery prices nationwide could have spiked even further.
Moreover, the dispute had threatened to spill into broader U.S.-Mexico relations. Mexico itself has been grappling with extreme droughts in its northern states, leading to tensions between farmers, local governments, and the federal authorities over who should sacrifice water. Some experts warned that failure to resolve the issue could have complicated trade deals like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
By securing this new deal, the Trump administration not only averted an immediate agricultural crisis but also removed a growing diplomatic flashpoint between two major trading partners.
Still, Caution Remains
Despite the celebration, many farmers remain wary. “It’s a good step, but we’ve been burned before,” said Rick Muñoz, a third-generation citrus grower near McAllen, Texas. “We’re not out of the woods until the water is actually in the river and reaching our fields.”
With drought conditions expected to persist into late 2025, the success of the new agreement will depend heavily on Mexico’s ability — and political will — to follow through.
For now, though, hope has returned to the fields of South Texas — along with the possibility that the next generation of farmers might still have a future to fight for.
