Tag Archive for: california farmers

California Conservationists and Farmers Unite to Protect Salmon

/in , , /by /Reutersby Daniel Trotta and Nathan Frandino

In an experiment a decade in the making, biologists are releasing hatchery salmon onto flooded Northern California rice fields, seeking to replenish endangered fish species while simultaneously benefiting the farmers’ business model.

At a time when environmentalists are often pitted against agribusiness in California’s water wars, conservation scientists and rice farmers are working together, trying to reclaim the great flood plains of the Sacramento River for salmon habitat.

Their task is daunting. California’s wetlands have all but disappeared, converted into farms and cities in one of the great engineering feats, or environmental crimes, of the 20th century.

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Opinion: Erratic Weather Requires New Water Policy Approach

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Dan Walters

What happened — or didn’t — weatherwise during the last two months starkly reminds us of the erratic nature of California’s vital water supply.

After months of severe drought, the state saw record-shattering storms in December, creating a hefty mountain snowpack while replenishing seriously depleted reservoirs. But January, historically a month of heavy precipitation, was bone-dry.

With climate change, California’s wet periods have become briefer, albeit sometimes more intense, and the dry periods have become longer, making the state’s elaborate water storage and conveyance systems less able to cope with precipitation patterns.

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What Dry January Means for Central California Farmers

/in , , /by /ABC 30by Dale Yurong

The snowpack which feeds into Pine Flat Dam is a healthy one.

It’s a little above average at this point, according to the first snow survey of the season conducted by the Kings River Water Association.

“What we’re told is this is the kind of year, the kind of weather pattern where we get wet sequences followed by extended dry sequences and that’s exactly what we’ve seen this season,” says Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen.

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Opinion: With Budget Surplus, Now is the Time to Fund Vital Water Projects

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Jim Nielsen and Andreas Borgeas

Over the past 40 years, California has not completed a major water storage project of statewide significance despite the state’s population nearly doubling.

Without substantial new investments and commitments to capture, store and move water throughout the state, whole communities will be subject to water scarcity and farmers will be unable to produce adequate food supplies, threatening food and national security.

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Opinion: Here Is the First Step to a Sustainable Water Policy

/in , , /by /Cal Mattersby Carolee Krieger

Water that is promised in a contract but can’t be delivered is called “paper water” – shorthand for water that does not exist except in legal documents.

During its mid-20th century frenzy of dam and canal construction, California allocated much more water than it actually had. These paper water commitments far exceed the amount of water than is available in our reservoirs and rivers. According to a study from the University of California, Davis, “appropriative water rights filed for consumptive uses are approximately five times greater than estimated surface water withdrawals.”

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Water Efficiency Grant Deadline Extended

/in , , /by /Western FarmPress

Through this program, resource conservation districts, non-profit organizations, University of California, California State University campuses, California community colleges, and California and federally-recognized tribes are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in funding to provide technical assistance to California farmers.

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California’s Drought Threatens Food Production in 2022 With Water Cuts

/in , , /by /Bloombergby Elizabeth Elkin and Alvaro Ledgard

California farmers who struggled to make it through record-breaking drought and heat in 2021 are bracing for another bad year, this time without any additional water from the state.

The state said it won’t give any water from the State Water Project to farmers unless drought conditions improve. That could mean even higher food prices at a time when consumers are struggling with an ongoing pandemic and inflation across the board.

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Opinion: Drought Has Big Impacts on California Agriculture

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Dan Walters

As California experiences a second year of drought, with no end in sight, the effects on California’s largest-in-the-nation agricultural industry are profound and perhaps permanent.

State and federal water agencies have cut deliveries to some farmers to zero while others, thanks to water rights dating back more than a century, still have access to water.

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A Massive Water Recycling Proposal Could Help Ease Drought

/in , , /by /WIREDby Matt Simon

LAKE MEAD, WHICH provides water for 25 million people in the American West, has shrunk to 36 percent of its capacity. One rural California community has run out of water entirely after its well broke in early June. Fields are sitting fallow, as farmers sell their water allotments instead of growing crops, putting the nation’s food supply in peril.

As the West withers under extreme drought, legislators in the US House of Representatives have introduced HR 4099, a bill that would direct the Secretary of the Interior to create a program to fund $750 million worth of water recycling projects in the 17 western states through the year 2027.

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Farmers Facing California Drought Impacts Feel Strain of Low Water Supply

/in , /by /KCRA3by Emily Maher

California farmers and ranchers are preparing for a difficult growing season as the state faces drought conditions. The California Board of Food and Agriculture met on Tuesday to discuss ways to help farmers and ranchers, as well as to discuss the proposed $5.1 billion included in the governor’s budget to address drought challenges and water infrastructure. After back-to-back dry years, the state’s water supply is strained, forcing farmers like Joe Martinez in Solano County to figure out ways to get the most out of their water.

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