Governor’s Restrictions Exempt Farmers
California’s almond growers have found themselves the unwitting subjects of intense scrutiny following Governor Brown’s decision to exempt agriculture from the most intense mandatory water restrictions in state history. Social media and opinion outlets have carried claims that the almond industry is getting a free pass even though it uses one gallon of water to produce each almond. Almond farmers have offered a spirited defense of their industry, pointing out that California is responsible for producing the majority of all almonds consumed around the world. The California Department of Food and Agriculture wrote a blog post noting that irrigated farmland for all crops accounts for only 41% of statewide water use and results in tens of billions of dollars of annual revenue. A report released late last year by the Almond Board of California concluded that the state’s almond industry creates $11 billion in value for the state economy on an annual basis. The report cited earlier research from the Agricultural Issues Center at UC Davis that found the California almond industry responsible in some way for 104,000 jobs in the state. Almond farmers also point out that they cannot let their trees lie fallow until the drought passes the way growers of other types of crops can.
What Happens Next
Farmers have suffered through years of drought, and their exemption from the new water rules does not change the difficulties that farm owners face in coming months. Farmers are in the process of determining what and how much they have enough water to be able to plant.
What This Means For Small Business
Any cutback to agriculture could result in increases to food prices nationwide. Almonds are especially prone to price fluctuations because of the massive portion of global production that takes place in the drought zone. Also, with California’s water woes set to continue into the foreseeable future, small businesses of all kinds will see continuing social and legal pressure to cut back water usage. While almond farmers are the popular target de jure, other types of business could just as easily face fresh scrutiny moving forward.
Additional Reading
California’s water restrictions continue to be a major source of regional news. A selection of news media outlets reporting on the implications for agriculture include Los Angeles Biz (CA), Gizmodo, the Washington (DC) Post , and Bloomberg View.
