Opinion: How San Joaquin Valley farmers can adapt to less water supply
Change is coming to farming in the San Joaquin Valley. Because of the need to reduce groundwater pumping to comply with the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, we’ve estimated that at least 500,000 acres of farmland will need to come out of irrigated production in the coming years. This is a major shift for California’s agricultural heartland, and one that will have profound impacts on the region’s residents, workers, economy, and environment.
-Written by Caitlin Peterson, associate director and research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center.Related article:
- The Daily Independent: Council tries to halt water facilitation over large pumpers’ ’scheme’ but DWR disagrees