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A program in Utah is paying farmers to make their irrigation equipment more efficient, but researchers say it may not be saving as much water as it appears.

Not exactly, and doing so could mean creating a food crisis to prevent a water crisis. The message from farm advocates: Please, don’t.

Researchers from Colorado State University are calculating emissions for the first time and showing their location in the state. Colorado Sun reporter Shannon Mullane said their goal is to help farmers figure out how to move water more efficiently.

The System Conservation Program is paying water users in the four upper basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah — to cut back. Although water users from all sectors can participate, all of the projects in Colorado involved agricultural water users on the Western Slope.

JB Hamby represents the state of California in Colorado River negotiations. The 27 year-old is leaning on history and his Imperial Valley upbringing for guidance.

Colorado has pledged to eliminate thousands of acres of irrigated agriculture in a focused region on the eastern plains. The burden falls mostly on private landowners. But the state also has irrigation wells there. And local farmers say they shouldn’t be the only ones to sacrifice their water rights.