The Impact of California's Drought Conditions

Drought. A period of dry weather, an extended shortage of water, in other words a huge problem for food production. The western United States, California especially, has been experiencing record low rainfall for the past five years with this year being the worst to date. There isn’t a single aspect of water usage that hasn’t been impacted by the shortage.

10 communities have been put on emergency water rationing; taking five minute showers and squeezing every possible re-use out of the water they’ve been allotted. Even with the rationing, it is predicted that their water reserves will run dry within the next two months. The rest of the state has been under voluntary water restrictions, but there is already talk amongst the government of implementing mandatory regulations until the drought is over.

Farmers will be leaving over 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) empty this year. Those fields that have already been planted show little to no growth without vital rain water. Ranchers and Dairy farms are already struggling to feed their herds and have begun selling off their livestock to pay for feed for those precious few they can afford to keep.

What does this mean?

For farmers it means they will have to cut back, let workers go, scrimp and save as much as they can to keep their farms afloat until the rain returns. Dairy farmers and ranchers are sending livestock east where there are still green pastures to feed them. Those whose livestock are remaining in California are relying more on hay and feed mixes instead of the meager fare available in the dry fields. Those lucky to have foreseen  the shortage stockpiled hay during the previous year, but how long will those supplies last before they too are forced to pay to bring in feed from out of state?

For you, the consumer, the impact will be to your table and your wallet. The demand for food is only increasing, but with fewer crops are being planted the supplies are going to be low. Row crops especially, like tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, cantaloupes, garlic, peppers and corn, will suffer a drop in production and cause prices to rise. Long term crops, like almonds, grapes/raisins, walnuts and olives, will also see a sharp decline as farms are forced to prune back trees and vines to cut back on water consumption. Pruning will allow the plants to survive on less water, but that means they won’t be producing anything. For nuts especially, this will impact supplies for years.

Expect to see California wine prices soar as well as wineries fight residents to use water for a “luxury item” or are forced to look for alternative water sources by digging new wells and implementing irrigation systems in areas that used to only rely on rain fall.  Considering that California produces over 90% of wine in the United States, we can expect to see less wine from our southern neighbour and more imports from overseas hit the shelves as retail locations balk at higher prices.