Central Valley Agricultural Issues Water • The Lifeblood of Agriculture and the San Joaquin Valley. • If people think the energy crisis was a crisis, wait until we start having problems with water. • Management of our water resources is crucial because jobs are closely linked to water in the local economy.
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Central Valley Agricultural Issues Water The Lifeblood of Agriculture and the San Joaquin Valley. If people think the energy crisis was a crisis, wait.
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Central Valley Agricultural IssuesWater
• The Lifeblood of Agriculture and the San Joaquin Valley.
• If people think the energy crisis was a crisis, wait until we start having problems with water.
• Management of our water resources is crucial because jobs are closely linked to water in the local economy.
California Agriculture and Its Use of Water
• The Water Fact Book
• Produced by the California Water Coalition
California Farmers and Water Allocation
• Agriculture is California’s most reliable industry
• Agriculture is the No. 1 renewable resource industry.
• An acre of farmland can use approximately the same amount of water each year as an acre of single family homes.
• Average annual rainfall statewide produces 200 million acre-feet; only 35% or 71 million acre-feet runoff and not all of it can be developed for urban or agricultural use.
• In an average year, about 30% of California’s urban and agricultural applied water is provided by groundwater extraction.
Water Use in California
1995 2020
Environment46%
Environment46%
Urban11%
Urban15%
Agriculture43%
Agriculture39%
Sample Daily MenuDinner
Lasagna
Pasta (4 oz.) 71.8
Tomato sauce (6 oz.) 38.7
Cheese (3 oz.) 168.0
Ground beef (3 oz.) 82.5
Garlic bread
Bread (1 slice) 10.6
Butter, 1 pat (.36 oz.) 45.7
Salad
Lettuce (1/2 cup) 1.5
Tomato (2 oz.) 3.8
Milk (8 fl. Oz.) 48.3
Dinner Total 470.9
Breakfast Orange juice (8 fl. oz.) 49.1 One egg 62.7 One toast and butter 56.3
Gallons of water to produceBreakfast 208.1Lunch 215.1Dinner 470.9
Daily Total 894.1
Irrigation Efficiency
• Runoff and percolation into groundwater make water available for other uses.
• Farmers use water-efficient and cost effective irrigation management practices (Surface—Sprinkler—Micro-irrigation)
• Water saving (conservation) through irrigation improvements and crop selection cannot be expanded indefinitely. Eventually, reductions in agricultural water use can come about only by reducing irrigated acreage.
Cost of Water
• Water is essential for all economic development.
• Many industries use public water facilities.
• State tax revenues result from access to water facilities.
• Cities incur water costs unique to their systems.
• Agricultural water is the first to be cut in times of shortage—City water users have priority.
• Increasing the cost of farmer’s water increases food and fiber prices while putting some out of business.
Water Transfers
• Water transfers have been taking place for many years.
• Transfers and water conservation alone cannot meet California’s growing water needs.
• Transfers are a solution to a short-term shortage of water.
• Large-scale transfers of water from agriculture could potentially devastate the economics of agriculture-based communities.
• Proposed Westside Land Retirement—to take water for other uses.
• Transfers require a source of water. The lack of adequate water supplies to meet all needs is still the primary issue with transfer proposals.
Crop Choices• Farm crops represent over one-third
of all State agricultural output—Cotton, Rice, along with Alfalfa and Irrigated Pasture which support the dairy industry.
• Consumer demand, market value, soil and weather factors are the best determinants of crop choices.
• Some crops considered “low value” meet important needs—i.e. Grains, Rice, Irrigated Pasture, Cotton Corn Silage.
• California’s livestock and poultry industries need more feed than California farmers can provide.
Agriculture California’s Economy
• California is the nation’s No. 1 Agricultural exporter, exporting over 20 % of what is produced in the state.
• California agricultural exports were valued at over $6.6 billion in 2000.
• The $27.3 billion contributed by Agriculture to California’s economy is only the actual value of all farm products generated by farming activities.
• San Joaquin Valley counties 2000 gross agricultural revenue equaled $14.42 billion.
• Agriculture has an overall economic impact of over $100 billion by creating jobs for products and services. Provides 1 out of every 10 jobs in the State.
• Approximately 30% of the land in California is agricultural, heavily concentrated in rural counties—San Joaquin Valley
• Loss of water to agriculture would “dry” up the economics of these counties—a plentiful water supply is economically important.
What percentage of total employmentcomes from agriculture labor and
industry employment?
• Colusa 28.0• Glenn 18.2• Kern 17.8• Merced 13.6• San Benito 11.0• Santa Cruz 6.8• Sutter/Yuba 12.1
• California must develop a more expansive water storage system.
• Expand reservoirs and develop new water facilities—Last major dam built in 1979 was New Melones on the Stanislaus River.
• Increase off-stream storage and water recharge.
• Obtain Funding—Federal, State, Water Bond, other sources to move forward with increasing the usable water supply in California and San Joaquin Valley
Summary
• Farming is a capital-intensive business, requiring large investments in land and equipment.
• To obtain credit necessary to finance these inputs, farmers must ensure they have a crop to sell every year.
• Resources, like a dependable water supply, are essential to this endeavor.
• Declining water supply reliability for Agriculture is a critical concern.
• Declining water supply reliability for Agriculture is a critical concern.
• Without water—we will not survive as an industry, economy or population.
• Agriculture ranks among the most crucial of our State, County and Nation’s industries; and yet, its reliability and productivity are often taken for granted.