Running on empty

Increased food prices are due to a combination of multiple factors such as higher transportation and labor costs and the effects of the war in Ukraine. But they’ve also increased because of reduced availability. Consider the following statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture:

• In 2019, 46% less cantaloupe was available than in 1999.
• In 2019, 40% fewer grapes were available in 2019 than in 1989.
• In general, there were nearly 2 pounds less fruit available per person in 2019 compared to 1970.

And these figures don’t yet reflect the dismal harvest figures expected this year.

The fact that California farms produce 60% of our nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables is taken for granted.

“Some farmers have fallowed ground, as they just don’t have enough water. Some have planted alternative crops such as milo, which uses less water than corn silage,” says Eric Limas, general manager of the Lower Tule River Irrigation District in Pixley, California. “Since we have a lot of dairies in our district, rising feed prices have also factored into their decisions. We have also seen a couple of dairies in our district sell their herds as well.”

Panoche Water District General Manager Ara Azhderian says farmers in his district have employed a variety of measures to cope with this year’s water shortages.

“Our customers have taken a variety of steps. Some have entered into water transfer agreements to buy the water they need. Others have fallowed some or all of their acreage. And some have sold their farms to larger entities with the resources to endure difficult times like this,” says Azhderian. “After spending much of the last 25 years transitioning to drip irrigation, there aren’t too many opportunities left to conserve water.”

In Panoche Water District, row crops such as melons, cotton and processing tomatoes have seen prices rise this year if there is water available to grow them. Higher prices at the farm means consumers will continue to see higher food prices, a direct result of California’s water shortages.

According to the USDA, from 1997 to 2017, California experienced a net loss of 1 million acres of irrigated farmland. Without changes, more farmland will disappear. And every acre of land removed from production means the equivalent of 50,000 fewer salads.

We can’t make it rain, but there are things we can do to improve the situation.

What can be done?

There are options for action on the state level as well as ways farmers can directly make an impact on this situation.

Prioritize California farming. California needs to make the safe, affordable, domestic food supply that comes from California farms a priority. Food production in California cannot simply be moved elsewhere. If we abandon California food production, we will need to rely more on an increasingly unreliable supply from other countries. And even if food from overseas is available, it could be more expensive due to high transportation costs. In addition, many countries lack the strict food safety regulations that exist in California, making much of the food imported less safe.

Implement Public Policy Institute of California recommendations to increase storage and modernize regulations to achieve long-term water security.

We don’t have to accept the effects of an ongoing drought when there is action we can take to reduce its impacts. We are in this situation because we’ve been slow to act on the recommendations of climate scientists who have been telling us we must do more to capture water in wet years for use in dry ones.

A recent report by the PPIC estimates increasing storage could allow us to capture between 400,000 and 800,000 acre-feet of additional water each year, enough to serve hundreds of thousands of homes for a year or grow the equivalent 10.5 billion salads.

Be creative and increase efficiency.
Limas adds that with the drought, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and the implementation of their Groundwater Sustainability Plan, water managers have had to think creatively.

“With the limited surface water supply we have available this year, we don’t have enough water to stretch across the entire district,” says Limas. “SGMA implementation created an opportunity to deliver the water differently than we would have in the past and still get everyone access to their share of it. We are delivering the water to areas near the disadvantaged communities in our boundaries, shutting off wells in those areas and issuing groundwater credits to the farmers for their share of the water. This way, all of the farmers get access to their share via groundwater pumping, while at the same time trying to protect groundwater elevations in critical areas.”

Improving irrigation efficiency is another way to make scarce water supplies last longer or meet the crop production needs on more acreage. The Natural Resources Conservation Service often has grants available for irrigation system improvements. And in California, the state department of food and agriculture provides grants through its State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program.

Eligible system components include soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water use and energy. SWEEP has awarded $81.1 million to date for 835 projects.

While SWEEP funds for 2022 have largely been exhausted, planning ahead to install or upgrade an irrigation system in 2023 could help.

Changing priorities

This is the worst time to put limits on our ability to grow our own food. Global instability, increased transportation costs and possible lax food safety standards elsewhere mean that we must revisit, prioritize and improve our nationally grown food supply. This is all doable. The state had a $97 billion surplus projected for the 2022-23 fiscal year and very little has been allocated to the necessary water projects.

At the time this article was submitted for publication, California Governor Gavin Newsom had just announced his “Water Supply Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future,” that includes creating storage space for an additional 4 million acre-feet of water, something that has been desperately needed for many years. California farmers and consumers alike are hoping this means that the state will be taking a more serious role in providing reliable water resources for a safe, affordable, domestic food supply.

Mike Wade is the executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition.