As drought worsens, California farmers are being paid not to grow crops [Los Angeles Times]
Green fields of alfalfa and cotton rolled past as Brad Robinson drove through the desert valley in Blythe, where his family has farmed with water from the Colorado River for three generations. Stopping the truck, he stepped onto a dry, brown field where shriveled remnants of alfalfa crunched under his boots. The water has been temporarily shut off on a portion of Robinson’s land. In exchange, he’s receiving $909 this year for each acre of farmland left dry and unplanted. The water is instead staying in Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, to help slow the unrelenting decline of the largest reservoir in the country. Robinson and other growers in the Palo Verde Irrigation District are taking part in a new $38-million program funded by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and other water agencies in Arizona and Nevada. The farmers are paid to leave a portion of their lands dry and fallow, and the water saved over the next three years is expected to translate into 3 feet of additional water in Lake Mead, which has declined to its lowest levels since it was filled in the 1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam.
Hydropower decline adds strain to power grids in drought [The Associated Press]
After water levels at a California dam fell to historic lows this summer, the main hydropower plant it feeds was shut down. At the Hoover Dam in Nevada — one of the country’s biggest hydropower generators — production is down by 25%. If extreme drought persists, federal officials say a dam in Arizona could stop producing electricity in coming years. Severe drought across the West drained reservoirs this year, slashing hydropower production and further stressing the region’s power grids. And as extreme weather becomes more common with climate change, grid operators are adapting to swings in hydropower generation. “The challenge is finding the right resource, or mix of resources, that can provide the same energy and power outputs as hydro,” said Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the California Energy Commission. U.S. hydropower generation is expected to decline 14% this year compared with 2020, according to a recent federal forecast. The projected drops are concentrated in Western states that rely more heavily on hydropower, with California’s production expected to fall by nearly half.
Climate Change Is Already Shocking Our Food Chain [Bloomberg]
Stuart Woolf, a large almond and tomato producer, recently bulldozed 400 acres of almond orchards in central California — about 50,000 trees that under normal conditions would have produced $2.5 million of nuts every year for another decade. It’s a fraction of the 25,000 acres his family farms, but razing the land was a necessary triage — “Like cutting off your horribly infected hand to keep the rest of the body going,” he told me. Woolf plans to replace the trees with cover crops he’ll neither sell nor harvest, but will use to sequester greenhouse gasses in his soil. He’s setting aside other land for another kind of farming: industrial solar. Woolf is among thousands of U.S. farmers whose businesses have been both damaged and transformed by historic drought and heat in recent months. And it’s just the beginning. Climate change is having an impact on agriculture more grave than that of the Coronavirus pandemic, and far more chronic and complex — driving a paradigm shift in the business of food. “We’re at a crossroads — there’s no turning back from here. No return to normal,” said Don Cameron, president of California’s Food and Agriculture Board and general manager of Terranova Ranch. “Right now there are more farms for sale in Central California than I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
California low-wage workers no longer have COVID paid sick leave. What happens next? [Fresno Bee]
A California law that provided employees with extended paid time off during the pandemic has expired. That could leave the Central Valley’s low-income workers, including those who are employed by the region’s agricultural industry, in a vulnerable position in the months ahead, worker advocates said. Now, advocates are calling for an extension of the law and more robust protections for a workforce that has been disproportionately devastated by the physical, emotional and economic toll of the pandemic. But because the program’s federal funding also expired, many employers are opposed to the idea of having to shoulder the costs to keep it running. “We’ve been telling legislators that the safety net of COVID-19 emergency protections for paid sick leave are vital for farmworkers,” said Hernan Hernandez, executive director of the Delano-based California Farmworker Foundation. California requires employers to provide at least three days of paid sick leave per year. SB 95, which took effect March 29, provided up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick leave. It retroactively applied to eligible employees who missed work due to COVID-19 between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, and covered the two-week period that people sickened with COVID-19 need to quarantine and no longer be infectious.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article254875742.html
Postcards from the Drought: Dormant Sonoma Water well now back online [Santa Rosa Press Democrat]
With water supplies diminishing across California, the Sonoma County Water Agency pulled off a major coup by bringing a fresh water source into play that will make another 1.6 million gallons a day or so available to its contractors. While not exactly new, the rehabilitated groundwater well off Todd Road in southwest Santa Rosa has been out of commission since the last drought and barely used for several years before that. But an infusion of cash — about $800,000 split by Sonoma Water and the county — plus months of labor and new equipment means the 808-foot deep well now meets state standards. The agency is also seeking state funds for a secondary project allowing injection of water into one of the wells during wet years to help recharge the groundwater basin. Sonoma Water produces about 40 million gallons of water per day for wholesale distribution from its wells alongside the Russian River near Wohler Bridge in Forestville, so the newly rehabilitated well off Todd Road will account for about 4% more in the system.
Sierra Oro Farm and Wine trail fun running all month [Chico Enterprise Record]
Customers wined and dined at various wineries during the Sierra Oro Farm Trail Sunday as part of a month-long harvest festival celebration. During the month of October, customers can purchase a $40 Farm and Wine pass, which opens the doors to Butte County specialty farms and wineries where visitors can stroll through farms, pick fresh apples and pumpkins, sample tasty artisan olive oils, specialty nuts and award-winning wines, all while getting to know the dedicated local farmers and winemakers at 31 farms and wineries. The Sierra Oro Farm Trail is a non-profit association of farmers and business people in Butte County with a shared passion for agriculture and our community. Guests hungry for a unique culinary adventure can set their own pace to enjoy the special offers and experiences at 31 farms and wineries throughout Butte County for 31 days in October. The Trail Farm & Wine Pass is a collaboration between the Sierra Oro Farm Trail and Explore Butte County.
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