Agriculture Archives

Changes in Snowmelt Threaten Farmers in Western U.S.

April 21, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Colorado State Universityby Mary Guiden

For decades, scientists have thought that changes in snowmelt due to climate change could negatively impact agriculture. Now, a new study reveals the risks to agriculture around the world from changes in snowmelt, finding that farmers in parts of the western United States who rely on snowmelt to help irrigate crops will be among the hardest hit in the world by climate change.

In a study published April 20 in Nature Climate Change, an interdisciplinary team of researchers analyzed monthly irrigation water demand with snowmelt runoff across global basins from 1985 to 2015. The goal was to determine where irrigated agriculture has depended on snowmelt runoff in the past and how that might change with a warming climate.

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150 Ag and Water Groups Call for Water Relief

April 21, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /AGNet Westby Brian German

A group of 150 agricultural and water organizations is calling on federal officials to provide water relief for the Western United States. Two separate letters sent to President Donald Trump and members of Congress highlight the importance of providing support for enhancing water management, particularly in light of the tumultuous conditions created by COVID-19.

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Changes in Snowmelt Threaten Farmers in Western U.S.

April 21, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Science Dailyby Jeff Grabmeier

Farmers in parts of the western United States who rely on snowmelt to help irrigate their crops will be among the hardest hit in the world by climate change, a new study reveals.

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Ag Groups Seek Help from Feds on Water

April 21, 2020/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Western Farm Press

CFBF, Western Growers among 150 organizations asking Congress and the White House to address aging infrastructure.

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Santa Fe Irrigation District to Appoint New Director, Applications Due May 8

April 21, 2020/in Home Headline, Media Coverage, San Diego County /by Mike Lee /Rancho Santa Fe Reviewby Karen Billing

The Santa Fe Irrigation District is seeking a new local representation after Division 1 Director Kenneth Dunford submitted his resignation. Dunford sent notice to the district and his fellow board members that he had made a commitment to move to Carlsbad; his last day of service was March 31.

The vacancy will be filled by the appointment process and the new board director will serve until the November 2020 election.

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Opinion: California Water War Re-ignited

April 20, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /CalMattersby Dan Walters

The COVID-19 pandemic, we have been told, is transforming how we live, but one aspect of life in California appears immune to change: the state’s perennial war over water.

President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom may have set aside their incessant squabbling over most issues to cooperate on the pandemic, but they are poised for showdown over who controls the state’s vital water supply.

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Framework for Agreements to Aid Health of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a Starting Point With An Uncertain End

April 17, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Western Water (Water Education Foundation, Sacramento)by Gary Pitzer

Voluntary agreements in California have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state regulators. But no one said this would be easy.

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Droughts Exposed California’s Thirst for Groundwater. Now, the State Hopes to Refill its Aquifers

April 16, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Science Magazine (American Association for the Advancement of Science) by Erik Stokstad

California’s Central Valley — one of the richest agricultural regions in the world — is sinking. During a recent intense drought, from 2012 to 2016, parts of the valley sank as much as 60 centimeters per year. “It isn’t like an earthquake; it doesn’t happen, boom,” says Claudia Faunt, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. But it is evidence of a slow-motion disaster, the result of the region’s insatiable thirst for groundwater.

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Opinion: California Water Policies Inhibit Food Production by Valley Farmers

April 16, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /CalMattersby William Bourdeau

Over the past several weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has created images Americans never expected to see in this country: Empty supermarket shelves and people lined up outside of markets waiting to enter to purchase food.

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Opinion: For California’s Water, a Tale of Two Letters

April 16, 2020/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /The Sunby Wayne Western

Two weeks after the State of California rolled out its plan that spells the end of coordinated distribution of the state’s water resources from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California Democrats in Congress have finally spoken out, sort of.

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