California farmers are reeling from loss of powerful congressional allies
California’s agricultural industry – the nation’s largest food producer — is fighting for its political future. First came the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a staunch Democratic ally who was unafraid of prioritizing farms over endangered fish in the state’s long-running water wars. Then House Republicans kicked Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a native of the Central Valley’s agricultural heartland, out of the speakership. The sudden loss of two of California’s most effective champions for agriculture has left a political void that the industry is unsure how to fill. … The loss of congressional leadership is putting the industry at risk of losing funding and access to water. The risk is amplified as negotiations over access to the Colorado River heat up and intensifying drought and wet years test the state’s aging, oversubscribed water delivery system.
Related articles:
- Washington Post: Climate change is pushing American farmers to confront what’s next
- North Bay Business Journal: Sonoma County crop report for 2022 shows losses due to drought
- KQED – San Francisco: How Central Valley farmworker communities are tackling climate change
