Historic shift in agriculture

Who will replace California's lost production?




    The colored areas in the first map show the agricultural production valleys.
The second map shows drought expanding with 2 small exceptions, but both of those are out of major crop areas.

    California produces Milk, vegetables, nuts, grapes, cotton, and others.  The drought is in the 4th year, water supplies are diminished, rainfall a fraction of normal, snow in the mountains is 6% of average.  With no change in sight the largest producer of agricultural goods is at risk.
 
    As an example of the impact California farmers get twice as much spinach per acre of any other growing location.  Water shortages are forcing farmers to not crop about 500,000 formerly irrigated acres. This will need to be replaced somewhere at less productive areas.

 


This depleted Almaden Reservoir is only one example.  Wells supplying irrigation are also pumping less water.

                                                                               Serving together, Dean