Nuts , or Fish ??

[David Lee]

The choice is pretty clear .

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed...326-story.html

D.~

[gitt]

How many almonds equal one watermelon or one cantaloupe? How many almonds per tree? How many trees per acre? The first read through I was starting to feel sorry for this almond grower. 1 million acres of nut production? That is an awful lot of water.

[SeanO]

Interesting read, David!

Thanks for that.

Seems like the water rationing that may be coming is pitting crop against crop?

I thought an interesting point in the article was the following:

Some of the old-timers still remember when this stretch of Fresno County belonged to the horned toad, jack rabbit and tumbleweed. Just as the architects of the Central Valley Project envisioned, water and man's ingenuity turned the middle of California into the world's most productive agricultural region.

If farming is unsustainable without significant input from other areas why does it matter which crop is grown? Seems like if we leave water in-basin we would have more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems (including horned toads, jack rabbits and tumbleweed)!

[Darian]

I don't know about everyone else but I like to eat food products grown in the central valley, regardless of whether it's fruit, veggies, nuts and/or meat. The method of irrigation mentioned in the article (drip) is not practiced, universally throughout the central valley, tho. Flood irrigation is still used for certain crops, rice comes to mind. Another wasteful use of water is the spraying of feed lots to keep down dust while cooling cattle (altho, the alternative may be too smelly to stand). On my return to Sacramento today, I passed what I can only describe as thousands of acres of vineyards along I-5 (many more than nut orchards).

I still say the method of irrigation used is only part of the problem. For me, the real issues for CA Ag are keeping water in-basin, treatment of Ag water run-off and use of recycled water for irrigation. Seems like something that could be accomplished in a relatively short period and would result in some level of reduction in demand for water from Fed/state projects and/or groundwater.

Beyond that, almost all of our water issues can be related to expanding demands for water to accommodate rapid, rampant development fueled by population growth both here and overseas.

[John Sv]

I thought rice somewhat closely resembles the natural spring flood regime and might be good for growing salmon smolts. Yes? No?

[SeanO]

I thought rice somewhat closely resembles the natural spring flood regime and might be good for growing salmon smolts. Yes? No?

Not yes or no, but IF.

If smolts are introduced into the rice fields and are released, it is good. However, the fields are behind levies so access for fish is usually dependent on human intervention.

Best,

[gitt]

After a trip into the Sierra a few years back, we were driving back along 120. My backpacking companion had me take a detour to show me some 750 acres that had been homesteaded shortly after statehood and was still owned by his the family. The original homesteader had owned a mercantile in San Fran and moved out to the valley with the lure of free land. The only reason that it was still in the family is that when the Oakdale water district was formed, the community farmers borrowed against the land to pay for the construction of irrigation canal system. My friend's great great grandfather chose not to join the water district by borrowing against his land as collateral. An economic downturn or depression ensued shortly after the water district was formed and/or built. The farmers that were leveraged, unable to make the payments, lost the land to the lender/bank.

But, what interested me was what had occurred more recently. The fact that they were contacted to lease the land to corporate farming interests shortly before we took that detour off of 120. It was a work in progress as it had been recently planted. Still recall standing near a well head surveying the land. I was told as far as I could see was their property. The corporate farming interests had come in, leveled the acreage somewhat from rolling hills, planted almonds and installed drip irrigation. I was intrigued at the time by the simple fact that the land was being utilized for almond production while the heirs had no real interest in the land other than deriving annual checks for use of their land. The semi annual checks only supplemented his regular income and made life a little easier. I had mixed feelings that day about the land use. Every time almonds and water comes up, I reflect back upon that day we took a detour on our way home.

[TaylerW]

Well I'm depressed now. In comparison to other things, almonds are small peanuts in terms of water loss/use. The amount of water that evaporates out of the canals would blow your mind.

[David Lee]

Well I'm depressed now. In comparison to other things, almonds are small peanuts in terms of water loss/use. The amount of water that evaporates out of the canals would blow your mind.

Not according to this , Tayler -

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...s-drought.html

Well written , but I have to admit to being biased a little .

D.~

[Darian]

Good article. I found one sentence in it that sums it up for me:

"California is caught between the lessons of its history and the habits of its political economy."