California to Stop Water Deliveries to Farms

StormWire: California to Stop Water Deliveries to Farms:

Despite barrage of storms that struck the California coastline throughout February, drought conditions still exist in the San Joaquin Valley. Since October, the area from Stockton southward to Bakersfield is still suffering from a rainfall deficit.

California authorities report that most state and federal reservoirs are at their lowest levels since 1992. Therefore, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates a massive network of dams, canals and pumps that moves water between Northern and Southern California, is stopping water deliveries to state farms for a three-week period beginning March 1st for the first time in 18 years.

This is a crushing blow to the nation’s number one agricultural state. Lester Snow, the director of the Department of Water Resources, estimates that the drought could cause a $1.15 billion dollar loss in agriculture-related wages and eliminate as many as 40,000 jobs in farm-related industries in the San Joaquin Valley alone.

Over 90% of nectarines and 60% of peaches in the U.S. are grown in California. The San Joaquin Valley, specifically, is the major source of tomatoes, grapes, almonds, apricots, asparagus, and cotton for the country. With an ongoing drought combined with a lack of reservoir water, farmers are being forced to either downsize their crop area or produce fruits and vegetables than are not significantly profitable.

The reduced crop production and poor quality are likely to increase produce prices in the supermarkets over the coming months. Furthermore, any food items that use California crops as ingredients will also see a rise in price.