Archive of posts filed under the agriculture category.

How “Cheap Talk” Helped Environmentalists and Water Managers Find Common Ground

Posted by on

An excerpt from my book, published by Earth Island Journal: a case study in how “cheap talk” – the relative informality of a “working group” without obligations – helped calm conflict between environmentalists and water managers on the Lower Colorado: In the short run, the relative informality meant that there was no concrete, institutionalized way …

Continue reading ‘How “Cheap Talk” Helped Environmentalists and Water Managers Find Common Ground’ »

Despite drought, the value of California farmland is rising

Posted by on

California’s epic, headline-grabbing drought has not dented the value of the state’s farm land. According to a new USDA dataset released today, California cropland rose 2.1 percent in value per acre in the last year, and 16 percent since 2012. Despite drought, California cropland remains at $10,900 an acre the second most valuable in the …

Continue reading ‘Despite drought, the value of California farmland is rising’ »

With Colorado River water, growing peppers

Posted by on

I’m not sure I would be as sanguine as this Coachella pepper packer about the long term availability of water: The process of producing peppers is both simple and complicated.  “Workers, water, weather–those are our three big headaches,” Aiton says. Aiton says while water is a concern in the state, it’s not as critical in …

Continue reading ‘With Colorado River water, growing peppers’ »

The inevitable decline of irrigated acreage in California’s central valley

Posted by on

It’s a relatively straightforward point: when there is less water to irrigate farmland, there will be less irrigated farmland. For example, OtPR last year: As groundwater sustainability agencies have to bring irrigated acreage in line with the sustainable yield of the groundwater basin, they will be retiring irrigated lands (Dr. Burt: 1-1.5 million acres; Dr. Lund: …

Continue reading ‘The inevitable decline of irrigated acreage in California’s central valley’ »

Hanak on federal agriculture policies and water

Posted by on

When we think of federal water policy, we think Bureau of Reclamation or EPA. But just as agriculture is where the water is, federal agriculture agencies are where the money is. Ellen Hanak of the Public Policy Institute of California had a post yesterday with some useful suggestions for spending it well: Practical reforms in …

Continue reading ‘Hanak on federal agriculture policies and water’ »

Despite drought, California agriculture adds 30,000 jobs

Posted by on

It’s increasingly clear that the lessons we’re learning from California’s drought are not those we expected. Far from the doom of so much of the rhetoric, Californians are adapting to scarcity with remarkable aplomb. The latest data point, from Phillip Reese and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee, may be the most interesting yet: California’s …

Continue reading ‘Despite drought, California agriculture adds 30,000 jobs’ »