Valley’s ag and water economics a complex conundrum

From the Fresno Bee:

The message from farmers is dramatic and direct: drought and federal water restrictions are crippling San Joaquin Valley agriculture — and threaten America’s food supply. “This is a crisis, and it’s a worsening crisis,” said A.G. Kawamura, California’s secretary of food and agriculture. “The federal government needs to understand this [will have] a major impact on America’s food supply, on the nation’s food security.”

Yet even as growers fallow thousands of acres and lay off workers, farm employment in Fresno County is the highest in a decade — and agricultural production hit a record value in 2008.

What’s going on? There’s no fast and easy answer. Valley agriculture and water economics are too complex for that.

There are stark differences between the east and west sides of Fresno County alone. In the vast reaches of the west side, sharp limits on water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have forced growers to plant fewer acres and hire fewer workers. Unemployment rates are above 30% in towns like Mendota, Huron and San Joaquin. Packers and processors have closed as business dwindles.

But on the east side, farmers face fewer water cutbacks. More water means more work — enough so far, apparently, to take up the slack being felt in the west.

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

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