Drought, Water Policy Combine with Grim Consequences for California Farms

Years into an historic drought, the situation is getting dire for many farmers in California, especially in the agriculture-rich Central Valley. On top of shortages of rain and snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, state regulations have clamped down on the amount of groundwater farmers can pump to irrigate crops. The combination now threatens crop and livestock output as well as exacerbates the state’s agriculture labor situation. Dairy, row crop, grape, almost, pistachio and fruit production are a few sectors that have been hardest-hit by the drought, and the growing shortfall could start to cause an outward human migration that could leave even fewer ag workers available to tend to those crops still grown in the rich ag area around Tulare County, California, for example. See more on the dangerous conditions in California.