Farm Water News: News articles and links from September 13, 2012

Water supply

Water speaker gives California's environmental managers an 'F'

Story

From Redding Record Searchlight - Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012

Coalition response... PPIC's Ellen Hanak provides a thoughtful statement that everyone should consider--- water use for agriculture, residential and urban users has been decreasing since the late 1980s. But the demand for water to preserve or restore wildlife habitat continues to increase. Hanak's comments further showed how inefficient environmental water use has been. The time has come to enact reasonable environmental water use efficiency standards. That means holding environmental water managers to the same level of accountability for water use efficiency that agricultural and urban water users have achieved over the years.

Descendent of farm workers wants to eat less water

Story

From HealthyCal - Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012

Coalition response... Contrary to the misconception, farmers are not "using water with abandon." California farmers have a proven history of using natural resources responsibly to produce a safe, healthy and affordable food supply for consumers in our state and around the world. Water management is reliant upon many things, including climate, soil conditions, water availability and more. Most farmers who integrate dry farming into their operations do so because of a lack of water supply either from the aquifer or surface deliveries. Their methods have been successful. Without irrigated agriculture we would not enjoy the wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables that feed our families.

Water use efficiency by farmers has increased with new technology. Where available and affordable, farmers have turned to micro irrigation systems to grow their crops. It costs $1,200 to $1,500 per acre to install a micro-drip irrigation system for orchards, vineyards and annual crops such as peppers and tomatoes. It takes another $100 per acre each year to maintain that system. From 2003 through 2010 San Joaquin Valley farmers invested more than $2.1 billion on 1.8 million acres to upgrade their irrigation systems.

We all benefit from this commitment by farmers to their land and their crops. The average U.S. family spends just 6.2 percent of their disposable income each year for food and non-alcoholic beverages compared to 10.2 percent for families in other countries around the world. If the percentages were equal in 2010 Americans would have spent an additional $3,820 to feed their families.

Dry land farming plays a role in the bounty of crops produced by California farmers. However, we should not overlook the value of irrigated agriculture.

WATER SUPPLY

IID reaches out to public with QSA information session

Story

From Imperial Valley Press - Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012

Farmers: QSA may pose unreasonable financial burden

Story

From Imperial Valley Press - Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012

MID and Mariposa in a water fight

Story

From Merced Sun-Star - Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012

(This commentary previously appeared in the Sacramento Bee.)

California's water belongs to all of us