Opinion: Feeling the California drought on my family farm
I can see my future: It’s dry, thirsty and bleak. On our farm, we live with drought daily, working with limited groundwater and learning to adjust and adapt, or to fail and abandon our fields. Water will determine a farmer’s survival. I farm organically outside Fresno, part of one of the world’s richest and most productive agricultural oases, providing, of course, that we have water. … A severe two-year drought is drying out the West and Southwest from Washington to California, Montana to Texas. Agriculture feels the impact with crops withering and production limited.
-Written by David Mas Masumoto, a farmer in Del Rey, California.Related articles:
- The New York Times: How Climate Change Hit Wine Country
- Press Democrat: Lake Mendocino is drying up, and 1,600 Russian River water rights are about to be halted
- Ag Info: Breeding drought tolerant almond rootstocks