On an early August morning in California’s Imperial Valley, tractors rumble across verdant fields of alfalfa, mowing down the tall grass and leaving it to dry in shaggy heaps under the hot sun. Here, in one of the oldest farming communities in the Colorado River basin, the forage crop is king. One out of every three farmed acres in the valley is dedicated to growing alfalfa … Now, with the basin on the brink of the most severe water cuts in history, the alfalfa industry has been propelled to the center of longstanding debates over sustainable water use and the future of farming in the west.

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• San Luis Obispo Tribune: Making wine with less water: SLO County growers turn to drought-tolerant grapevines 
• The Associated Press: In Mexico’s dry north, Colorado River adds to water uncertainty
• The Hill: California drought raises red flags for agriculture
• Ag Web: Lingering California drought and record heat forces tough decisions for the state’s farmers