water conservation
California water board gives farmers a break thanks to rain
A wetter fall has convinced California regulators to ease up on water restrictions for farmers and ranchers in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta and its watersheds, says Reuters. A foot of rain fell on the northern half of the state in October, making it the second wettest on record in the northern Sierra Nevadas. The south remained dry.
California’s dry farmers say, ‘Drought? What drought?’
In California, so-called dry farmers say that they’ve avoided the worst of the drought and produced more flavorful crops by keeping their plants thirsty, reports Ari LeVaux in FERN’s latest story, produced with National Geographic's blog, The Plate.
In Central Valley race, ‘the drought drives everything’
On paper, Republican Rep. David Valadao should be at a disadvantage, running for re-election in a U.S. House district that is 57 percent Latino and where Democrats have a 17-point advantage in voter registration. Yet, in the Central Valley of California, "the nation's most productive agricultural region, the drought drives everything," says the Los Angeles Times.
Food companies agree to tackle water risks
Seven major food companies, with $124 billion in combined annual revenues, will work with growers around the world to reduce water use and pollution, said World Wildlife Fund and Ceres, a nonprofit group promoting sustainable food. The companies, Diageo, General Mills, Hain Celestial, Hormel Foods, Kellogg, PepsiCo and WhiteWave Foods, will submit detailed sustainable sourcing and water stewardship plans as part of the AgWater Challenge.
Western Kansas tests drip irrigation delivered from a center pivot
Three farmers in western Kansas are partnering with a state agency in a test of thrifty irrigation systems that require less water to grow crops in the Plains
Southwestern farmers learn to water tomatoes and tilapia from same spigot
Farmers in the arid Southwest are turning to aquaponics, an indoor system that combines hydroponics with fish farming to conserve water and use fish excrement to nourish plants, according to The Guardian.
As aquifer level drops, Idaho proposes water management
Water levels in the aquifer underlying eastern Idaho are plummeting, so state officials have proposed creation of the East Snake Plain Aquifer groundwater management area, says The Associated Press. The result would be a plan that parcels out water to farmers and other users in predictable amounts rather than abrupt cutbacks when the holders of senior rights to the water claim their share.
Rice-growing experiment could cut water use by 50 percent
A massive farm in Central Valley, California, is teaming with Israeli water experts running the first ever experiment with drip irrigation for rice production in the U.S.
CA bill would move billions from bullet train to water projects
California's $53-billion agriculture industry is rallying behind a bill for the November ballot that would move money intended for the state’s high-speed bullet train to new water projects.
Farm Bureau launches survey of USDA programs
The largest U.S. farm organization announced an online survey open to all farmers and ranchers to rate their experiences with 10 USDA programs on soil and water conservation, rural energy, farmers markets, and farm operating and land ownership loans.
$8 million for water conservation in Ogallala Aquifer
The USDA announced $8 million in funds for the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative to conserve water in the eight states, from South Dakota to Texas, served by the aquifer. Nearly one-fifth of U.S. wheat, corn, cotton and cattle are produced in the 174,000-square-mile region.
Colorado wrangles over legalizing rain barrels
Public broadcaster KUNC says rain barrels are a touchy subject because of the larger issue of water rights "and the competition for every last bit of water" in the often-arid West.
In a geological blink of an eye, Ogallala aquifer is in peril
Dry wells are a common problem in drought-stricken California, but the state has reservoirs, rivers and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.
Only a few miss deadline for conservation compliance
Some 98.2 percent of farmers met the June 1 deadline to show they practice soil and water conservation on their land. By filing the document, form AD-1026, producers are eligible for premium subsidies on crop insurance.
Nutrient compliance, pay-for-gain mooted for conservation
Researchers know that a comparatively small share of cropland accounts for a disproportionate amount of erosion and nutrient runoff, writes economist Marc Ribaudo in Choices, the ag econ journal.
Drought could idle 1 million acres of California farmland
As California nears the end of a skimpy rainy season, "Farmers said they anticipated leaving as much as one million acres fallow, nearly twice the area that went unplanted last year," according to the New York Times.
The urban-vs-rural water war in California
The order by Gov. Jerry Brown for a 25-percent reduction in urban water use "reopened a generations-old, urban-versus-rural debate about who should control California’s water and how it can best be used," says the San Diego Union-Tribune. Critics say agriculture got a free pass from Brown because of political clout. The farm bloc says it already endures cutbacks. This is the second year of "zero allocation" of federal irrigation water to farmers and the state has cut its allocation to farms to 20 percent of normal, says the Union-Tribune.
USDA conservation program “misses the mark”-farm groups
The biggest USDA conservation program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, slights ongoing work by farmers in favor of operators who are new to the program or agree to take on additional land, water and wildlife work, say two small-farm groups.