StanislausCounty hasn’t had much to celebrate this New Year due to a worrisome lack of rain this winter season. We are suffering from one of our worst droughts in history. Because Stanislaus is so dependent on farming, the drought has devastating consequences on our local economy.
John Holland from the Modesto Bee says, “Drought has done an estimated $12.9 million worth of damage to StanislausCounty’s beef industry last fall, which is nothing in comparison to the county’s usual income of an estimate of $351 million.”
The lack of rain is detrimental to ranchers that rely on it to water their crops. Charles Crivelli, Director of Blue Diamond Almonds and local farmer, says that farmers are worried that they are going to run out of water. “The irrigation district can’t provide us with adequate water, so we have to use pumps,” says Crivelli. “Many farmers don’t have access to pumps, so they can’t irrigate right now.” At this rate, they will have reduced the availability of water irrigated, which will be reduced to approximately 50%– which will continue to increase.
Matthew Cox, local grower at Just Tomatoes, says that the drought is causing him to prepare to plant less acreage. Between farmers choosing to plant fewer crops this year and the lack of production due to drought conditions, we can expect to see rising food costs at the supermarkets. If Cox wants to plant more, he says, he will have to invest in more drip tape and micro sprinklers in order to reduce overall water usage.
A decrease in crops reduces profitability to farmers, while the drought increases their operating expenses further burdening growers. The bottom line is that this will drive up the cost of food. Drought doesn’t just affect the famers, it affects everyone. Every city in the area will be affected. “It’s an issue to everyone because we all rely on well water,” explains Crivelli.
StanislausCounty isn’t alone in its worries about the drought. California’s Governor declared the drought a state of emergency. California’s rivers and reservoir are lower than ever. Perhaps we should take a note from Dan Sutton, general manager for Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange, “Possibly we have to change our croppings, we have to change what commodities we grow and where. Maybe vary what time that we grow them in the season, so our growers are looking at different options to mitigate them in the season, so our growers are looking at different options to mitigate in the worst case scenario that we’re gonna get the rainfall we need.”