I’m taking advantage of my down time from what is apparently a nasty summer cold to catch up on my ag news.
Turns out I’ve missed a lot, namely the water wars that are well underway in California. Nearly 4,000 farmers, farmworkers and their supporters took to the streets in Fresno to protest regulations that have cut water supplies to one of the nation’s most bountiful regions. Check this AP story in the Mercury News for more.
Anyone who’s looked at a map or has seen the Milagro Beanfield War knows that access to water is literally the lifeblood of modern agriculture. Without irrigation, large corporate farms and growing such diverse crops in far-flung areas would be next to impossible.
Indeed, the AP story has this quote:
“Water makes the difference between the Garden of Eden and Death Valley.”
That observation was from comedian Paul Rodriguez, who is speaking on behalf of the Latino Water Coalition, which is lobbyiing for a change in water delivery policies.
In California, one of the big conflicts is between farmers, who are pressing for more water for irrigation, and fisherman, who’ve been suffering for years because of drought conditions in the area’s delta region.
But if you think this is an issue only isolated to these groups in this region, think again.
“The reality is that the amount of water available for agriculture — and not only in California — is going to shrink,” writes Susan Crowell for Farm & Dairy.
Crowell’s advice for the Midwest?
Preserve and conserve.
Virtual Farmgirl 