US (CA): Amid water cuts, growers already feeling the pinch

The water cutbacks in California recently announced by Governor Jerry Brown have placed no restrictions on water use for the state's growers. But despite not being affected by the cuts proposed, California growers have already had to curtail their water use for quite some time now.

“Amid the governor's executive order to cut water use, there was some questioning of his rationale by urban areas,” said Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition. “There were questions about why there weren't water cuts for agriculture, but for the past two years, agriculture has already cut back.” Based on a survey conducted by the California Farm Water Coalition, about 620,000 acres of land will lie fallow this season, and Wade believes that's tied to how little water the state's growers have had in the recent past. According to the Coalition's figures, 41.6 percent of California's irrigated farmland has received deep cuts to this year's water supply, and about 30 percent of irrigated farmland will get no water at all.

Not all of the state's growers have had to deal with limited water, but that's only if they don't rely on irrigation water. On California's Central Coast, growers rely on ground wells that aren't as depleted as those in the state's Central Valley.

“To date, the water shortage hasn't had a huge impact on our industry,” said Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement. “Most lettuce is grown in the Monterey Peninsula area, and the water situation hasn't been as drastic for growers there as for growers elsewhere in the state. But, like for everyone, water is a concern going forward.” If growers continue to draw from existing wells and aquifers aren't replenished with groundwater, then seawater can seep into the fresh water supply. Growers who receive less water are also moving to where there is more water, and as more people seek land on the Central Coast, acreage becomes scarce. Some growers are also worrying that less water could affect the quality of lettuce produced by the region's growers.

If drought conditions persist, all growers, no matter the region, will be affected. For growers, recent announced cutbacks are a reminder of what they've been all to aware of for the past few years: the water situation in California is dire.

“As the price of water goes up, people will make decisions on what to irrigate based on the return of the crop, and they'll want to protect their investment on permanent crops. But, mostly, we'll see an overall contraction in acreage; roughly the same mix, but with fewer acres,” said Wade. “As the governor has acknowledged, agriculture has already borne the brunt of the drought so far.”

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Mike Wade

Scott Horsfall