Record rains transform a parched California, but ending drought remains elusive [Los Angeles Times]
The drought-dried shores of Folsom Lake were damp this week after what officials called the first big storm of the season.
The water level at Lake Oroville, which receded so much this summer that officials had to close its hydroelectric power plant for the first time, rose by more than 16 feet. And the Russian River — recently reduced to something more like a trickle — flowed with more ease after the atmospheric river dumped record-breaking amounts of rain across California, replenishing dwindled reservoirs and rehydrating cracked terrain. But while the massive plume of moisture helped, experts said it will take much more than one storm to make a dent in the drought. The 2021 Winter Outlook recently released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that dry conditions are likely to persist across much of the West through at least the start of next year. “It’s been very, very dry for two years,” said Jay R. Lund, director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Science. “One storm does not end that kind of a drought.”
Atmospheric river storm: How it affects California’s drought [San Jose Mercury News]
The conga line of Pacific storms that soaked Northern California over the past week was record shattering. With 4.05 inches of rain in 24 hours, Sunday was the wettest October day in San Francisco history and the fourth-wettest day ever, going back to the 1849 Gold Rush. That’s an astounding feat for October, which typically isn’t a very wet month. It was an excellent start to this year’s winter rainy season, experts noted, sending tens of billions of gallons into anemically low reservoirs, all but ending fire season across much of the state and beginning the long task of recharging rivers and groundwater. “This was a frog-choker, but not a drought buster,” said Jeffrey Mount, a professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences at UC Davis. “We’re still in a drought. But this storm sanded off some of its rough edges.” California needs another five to seven big atmospheric river storms to fill its reservoirs and end the drought, he estimated.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/10/25/atmospheric-river-storm-how-it-affects-californias-drought/
U.S. Dairy Cows Too Expensive to Feed, Causing Herd to Plummet [Bloomberg]
The number of dairy cows in the U.S. is plunging at a pace not seen in more than a decade, signaling elevated costs for products like butter. The cost of feeding dairy cows has been soaring, said Nate Donnay, director of dairy market insight at StoneX Group. That’s forcing dairy farmers to slash herds. Corn futures in Chicago are up 29% from a year ago and touched an eight-year high back in May. The U.S. herd shrank by 85,000 cows between June and September, the biggest four-month drop since 2009. Milk production is consequently less than expected, rising in September just 0.2% from last year, falling way short of StoneX’s forecast of 1.3%.
Lower milk production could mean that prices for dairy products could be more expensive, and add to rising food inflation that’s already hitting Americans’ wallets. “We’ve never seen a drop this big without a more severe drop in margins preceding it,” Donnay said in a report.
Belcampo Farms’ closure stuns Siskiyou County: ‘Good jobs’ that suddenly went away [Redding Record Searchlight]
The abrupt closure of Belcampo Meat Co.’s operations has left nearly 40 employees at its butchery in Siskiyou County jobless. And by the end of the year, that number is expected to climb to 80, according to an email Siskiyou County Supervisor Ed Valenzuela said he received from the company. The demise of the sustainable high-end meat company, which is headquartered in Oakland but also has a 30,000-acre ranch in the Siskiyou County community of Gazelle, comes after allegations surfaced this past spring that the company was mislabeling its meat. Eater LA reported in early June that “multiple former employees and one current employee allege Belcampo hasn’t been completely honest about its sourcing, and that it’s been mislabeling products for more than a year at its Santa Monica and (Los Angeles) West Third Street locations.” The company on its website says it’s e-commerce, retail and restaurant operations have closed.
“We want to thank you for supporting our company. You inspired us to create products that were delicious and reflected a care for our global environment. We are grateful that you joined us on this journey,” the statement says.
It’s time to get serious about water crisis [CalMatters]
Dan Walters column: Gov. Gavin Newsom extended and expanded his declaration of a drought emergency, just as the first in a series of storms rolled in from the Pacific to give California a much-needed respite.Of course, it was just coincidence, one that reminds us of the fickle nature of the state’s water supply, dependent as it is on a few wet months each year. We’ll need an old-fashioned wet winter, with soaking rains and heavy snowfalls, to truly get some relief. Our periodic droughts have become more frequent and more intense due to climate change and thus require us to become more resilient. However, we have neglected that imperative because it involves consensus that is difficult, or even impossible, to achieve in a state so large, complex and fragmented. We once had consensus on water, which is why federal, state and local water agencies created a world-renowned array of reservoirs, canals and other facilities to store water when it was abundant for use during dry seasons or drought. However, as the state’s population expanded to nearly 40 million thirsty souls and as agriculture, by far the biggest user of water, shifted to crops, such as grapes and nuts, needing more predictable watering, we continued to rely on an aging and inadequate infrastructure. If, for instance, we will be getting more of our precipitation as rain and less as snow, we must build more storage to replace the natural reservoir of mountain snowpacks. But even the most environmentally benign storage projects face decades of political wrangling.
https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/10/california-water-crisis-drought-newsom/
50,000-acre Bay Area land sale snuffs dream of creating California’s next great state park [San Francisco Chronicle]
A spectacular 50,500-acre property in the East Bay that had been billed as the future site of a large California state park has been sold instead to a Danville entrepreneur. The purchase of N3 Ranch was finalized Friday afternoon, marking an exchange of ownership for the largest private land listing in California, according to brokerage California Outdoor Properties. It was sold to Bill Brown, the founder and board chairman of Walnut Creek wholesaler Central Garden and Pet Co. He identifies himself as a fifth-generation Californian with a family history of ranching dating to the 1850s. A sales price wasn’t disclosed; however, the property had been listed for $68 million. “I have a great love for our state’s ranching heritage, and have long been committed to preserving ranch lands in California,” Brown said in an emailed statement to The Chronicle. “It is humbling to be able to purchase this historic ranch, and I consider it an honor to preserve its future, protect the land and watersheds, and maintain this amazing property.”
