The drought has affected many things, and one of the most important being agriculture. What is agriculture? As stated by Dictionary.com, it is “the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products”. In other words, it is almost everything. The entire world depends on agriculture in some way or form, as does California. The California drought has severely impacted the farming and cultivation of the state, and much more.
On January 16, 2014, hundreds of residents from all over the Central Valley headed towards the state capitol, Sacramento, to assemble for water. According to the U.S Geological Survey, the counties that use the most water -Fresno, Kern, Tulare, and Imperial, are all “focal points for agriculture” in California. When combined, these regions use five times, as much water as Los Angeles County by itself. Activists “plan to emphasize 2014 short term solutions such as water storage development, Delta sustainability, and clean water for disadvantaged communities.” The state is in such turmoil, forcing U.S Congress to pass a $956 billion farm bill; a bill that assists in securing sufficient food supply.
This is the third consecutive year that California has been suffering from dry conditions. According to KQED, “Because of its sunny climate and rich soil, California produces almost $45 billion worth of agricultural output per year”. But with very little precipitation this year, many farmers let their lands go unplowed, causing an increase in food prices. With this many farmers are rethinking what they will grow and discontinue to grow. For example, the acreage given to cotton has decreased in the past few years,...
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... for other options. Not only does this increase the production cost for the farmers but the price for the consumers who buy the fruits and vegetables.
Housing farming and agriculture are just three of the many things that are being affected by the drought. As we recall, California receives water by three forms: precipitation, surface storage reservoirs, and groundwater. Northern California receives much of its water through all three forms especially precipitation from snowfall in Nevada and through rivers. But southern California obtains water imported from northern California, the Colorado River, and the Owens Valley. As we continue into the year with the snowpack water levels were far below average, The average rainfall has decreased as well with only 60 percent normal rainfall in northern California, the more effects the drought in California will have on us.
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
The drought along with the dust storms as stated already made it impossible to plant crops, it also made it very difficult to provide food for the farmers and their families. If you could not plant anything, you did not have food for animals and you did not have food for families or children that needed it desperately. There was a sudden urgency of concern once farmers could not feed their family and members of those families started to starve.
...y. The water in Lake Oroville only reached 39 percent of capacity. That means that California is receiving less than half of their normal rainfall in just the northern region alone. Governor Jerry Brown finally decided to step in and declare the state of California, a drought. The dam isn’t being used nearly to its capacity, causing trouble for the rest of California (Chiocer).
Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
Many policies on farm and agriculture has impacted the way food is grown in America. For example hedge funds, described in page 11 of Foodopoly have essentially driven the prices of land in America and worldwide. This has resulted in farmers having to either cut down costs and make due with lesser land, or be forced out of business. Along with pollution to environment, this policy along with many others results in the situation described in page 12, with lesser farmers working to supply the nation (from 6.8 million to under 1 million). Most often, farmers sell their products are low prices to pay off land that is priced higher...
California geography in the 1860s were wide and flat valleys with a limited population what made what the ideal crop. California physical geography in the 1860s were flat and wide in the valleys which made wheat the ideal crop ideal crop, Before the panic of 1893, wheat was “profitable agricultural commodity” (201).The central valley of California improved agricultural through the development of technology such as “planting, pulverizing the earth, spreading the seeds in one operation, and improvements on cutting and threshing of grain” (pg. 202) California physical geography led to a prosperous agricultural and diversity various types of
For about five years California has experienced above average temperatures and a lack of rain. This lack of rain and snowfall has caused California to become increasingly dry, starting arguments over whose right to water is more important and who needs to be more mindful with their use of water. Farming in California truly began during the gold rush when water was redirected to land where food was grown for those looking for gold (Siegler, 2015). The farmers that have stayed on that land now have senior water rights (“Water wars”, 2015). Farmers that settled their land before 1914 are those with senior water rights (Terrell, 2015). Governor Jerry Brown has called for a cut in water use by one-quarter percent to people living
...the El Nino air pressure. The drought also has many impacts on economic, social and environmental. Manage drought comes from daily life and the government measure.
Zara Beadle METR 113 16 December 2015 Final paper California Drought The California drought has been extremely harmful to the states’ air quality. Since 2012, California has seen the worst drought conditions in 1,200 years and it is severely affecting air quality (California’s drought, 2015). As of 2015, the cities of Hanford, Merced, Modesto, Fresno, Yuba City, Lancaster-Palmdale, Chico, Sacramento, and Bakersfield have experienced exceptional drought coverage (Pestano, 2015).
...struggling to earn any income at all and sometimes do not even get the opportunity to eat. Another issue that Raj Patel did not touch on is the lack of care consumers have for the farmers. It seems that consumers care about farmers about as much as the corporations do, which, in my opinion, is not a lot. When consumers only care about low prices and large corporations only care about making a profit, the farmers are left out to dry. Many consumers believe “food should be available at a bargain price, a belief that relies on labor exploitation and environmental exhaustion at multiple points along the commodity chain.” (Wright, 95) Corporations as well as consumers generally tend to be selfish and I think Raj Patel is afraid to mention this. If only these people cared a little bit more about each other I believe the hourglass of the food system will begin to even out.
only way to supply that much food. That’s why so many people don’t like vegetables even
As many of you may know, 2013 has set the record for the driest year in California history and this drought has continued into 2014.
Climate change is currently affecting agriculture because it is causing prolonged droughts, violent flooding, sea level to rise, and also health related issues. Droughts and flooding utterly affect agriculture because it damages cultivation since the amount of water applied to crops and farming is fundamental to the...
As agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable of producing higher yields using less labour and less land. Growth of the agriculture has not, however, been an unmixed blessing. It, like every other thing, has its pros and cons. Topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. These are the cons of the new improved agriculture.