June in Los Angeles. 21 degrees Celsius with not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze coming off the ocean. The perfect weather for my trip this week, but the source of stress and worry amongst Californian farmers and ranchers. With a rainy season lasting only from December to March, residents have no relief in sight. Farmers react by planting less and less crops, leaving now over 800,000 acres (over 324,000 hectares) barren and empty. Previous estimates for this year’s growing season had only 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) left unplanted.
These dry fields quickly suck up what little rain does fall and increase the risk of dust-bowl conditions. When the hot dry winds blow through the San Joaquin valley, whirlwinds kick up dust and cut a swath across the landscape. It isn’t anywhere close to the Dust Bowl conditions seen in the 1930s, where storms of dust clouds trapped people indoors and droves of farmers fled their homes with only what they could carry with them, but it certainly isn’t looking good for the future either.
As if the drought conditions from lack of rain haven’t been bad enough, researchers have been looking at other factors to see what else may be impacting produce growth in California. While growing up, even during the hottest weeks of August, there was always a bank of fog covering the entire coastline in the early mornings. It burned off as the sun rose, but it made those early mornings in summer nice and cool. Fog was especially prevalent in the valleys during the late winter and early spring, where it would get trapped by the mountainous ridges on either side and create lower temperatures and shade the newly planted sprouts.
Researchers looking at satellite images have found that over the last 15 years, the amount of fog appearing in the valley areas of California has decreased by 46%. What does this mean for growers? Less fog means more hot sun and warmer temperatures that can scorch and wither more sensitive plants. Without shade for part of the day, lettuce greens are struggling significantly and many fruit and nut trees are producing less quantities than they would without constant direct sunlight. More direct sunlight during the day also means that what ground water is available is evaporating more quickly, contributing to the drought conditions.
These cooler temperatures before the spring growing season starts are necessary for almonds, pistachios, cherries, apricots and peaches. The trees use the cool and shaded days to develop the buds that eventually become the nuts and fruit we eat. Without the sufficient “rest period” the trees become stressed, produce less buds, and those buds that do form have a harder time developing properly. Already, many farmers are looking for alternate locations to replant established groves where they will have a better chance of producing higher yields.
Some farmers may still be saying “if I can survive this year, then the rain will come,” but for most farmers… they have already been just “surviving to the next planting” for a couple years and have now reached the tipping point that could put their farms under for good.
Watching my mom unpack the latest haul from the local Santa Monica Farmer’s Market was just as enlightening. “These were really expensive,” she stresses as she pulls a small bag of rainier cherries and two white peaches from her bag. “I’ve never seen them so expensive.” Even here in California, where the produce is locally grown, prices have skyrocketed, people are noticing and all the average person can do is keep hoping for rain.
