When the Well Runs Dry, Try Dry Farming | Modern Farmer | 7/10/14

When the Well Runs Dry, Try Dry Farming

Modern Farmer | 7/10/14

By Brian Barth

Drought in the West makes the news every year and it always seems to be the worst in decades. This summer, they say it is the worst in centuries.

2013 was the driest year on record in California. A report released in May by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California in Davis projects a nearly $2 billion loss to the agricultural economy in 2014 as a result of drought. The report goes on to say that in California’s Central Valley — often referred to as America’s fruit and vegetable basket — 410,000 acres may go unplanted for lack of water, leaving 14,500 farm workers without fields to tend…

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