California – A Food Powerhouse In Peril

Submitted by Erico Tavares of Sinclair & Co.

California – A Food Powerhouse In Peril

Now in its third year, the drought in California has forced local farmers to switch their water use from rivers and reservoirs, which are at historic low levels, to underground sources. This has mitigated substantial production losses, but given that underground reservoirs take a long time to replenish, if the drought continues the food situation in California might get much more dicey.

Food export data provided by the US Department of Agriculture for 2012, that is, before the current drought started to bite, can provide a sense of what is at stake. [Note: while a State’s actual agricultural export value cannot be measured directly, the USDA provides estimates per major food variety based on farm cash-receipts data]. The following table shows the crops where California was ranked either #1 or #2 based on 2012 export values:

Source: USDA.

(1) Includes live animals, other meats, animal parts, eggs, wine, beer, other beverages, coffee, cocoa, hops, nursery crops, inedible materials and prepared foods.

Last July, a study on the effects of the drought on California’s food production by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences highlighted that “consumer food prices will be largely unaffected. Higher prices at the grocery store of high-value California crops like nuts, wine grapes and dairy foods are driven more by market demand than by the drought.”

However, looking at the table above, future production losses could extend to a wider variety of staples: California represents almost one-fifth of all US States’ milk exports, a third of all vegetable and rice exports, almost half of all fruit exports and over 90% tree nut exports. What is equally striking is how distant the #2 States are in some cases in terms of production volumes.

So if the drought continues into the foreseeable future (and this is a real possibility), here’s a really interesting question: who will make up for any shortfall in California’s gigantic contribution to US food production?

Comments

[Jameson18]

Environmentalists are always wrong. They make decisions based on their feelings not whats good for the environment.

Conservationists usually get things right.

[Joe A]

So environmentalists are always wrong? Always? Even the ones that are environmental scientists? You'd a fool to think that humans don't have negative influence on the environment. Every conservationist will agree to that. Environmentalists and conservationists have a lot in common. You obviously have no clue what you are talking about.

[Bemused Observer]

California is NOT about to become a barren desert. The water shortages are exacerbated by the heavy industrial use. But much of that big ag produce goes overseas anyway, so fuck 'em. They're crying because they will have their margins squeezed...higher costs mean they have to raise prices if upper management is going to continue to fund their lush bank accounts, and good luck with that. That produce has a limited shelf life, and must be moved fast, a lower price is better than pallets of rotting vegetables...

If the small farmer can manage to hold on, he will outlast the big corporate farms...they'll have to quit long before he does simply because their losses will affect share prices, and that is the ultimate sin.

With the big guys moving on to greener pastures, there'll be enough water...still a tight supply, but do-able.

[I Drink Your Mi...]

No need to panic, there's still plenty of seaweed varieties for a delicious salad and lots of fishys in the sea.

[Joe A]

Fortified with delicious Fukushima radiation. And no, there are not enough fishys in the seas.

[Joe A]

Enter Ukraine with its vast Chernozem soils that are fertile. Big AG companies from far away can't wait to put their hands on them, taking profits back home and impose losses on the locals. Fracking under the watchful cocaine induced eye of Hunter Biden will pollute the ground and surface waters and when both agriculture and gas have all been exhausted then they will move on because that is how the scorched earth policy of these businesses rolls.

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2526593/ukraine_opens_up_...

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2328765/ukraine_the_corpo...

http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2373004/frac...

[Midnight Hour]

What everyone forgets is that California exports most of this and in the end means this Money is not coming into the Country. Imports are not slowing and that means how will those imports going to be paid? with the new Scheissdollar that less and less Countries want for payment? With more and more dept the end will come sooner.