You can't pick up a paper, listen to the radio or turn on the television news in recent weeks without hearing about California's historic drought.  This year is shaping up to be the driest in recorded history - and even if we get rain in the 6-7 weeks that remain of our typical rainy season, we're headed into the summer months without much stored water (in the form of snow pack and reservoir storage).  While the media has finally figured out that we're in the midst of a dry year, local farmers and ranchers have been dealing with (and planning for) dry conditions for some time now.

Most vegetable farmers begin planning for the coming growing season in November and December.  By now, they've ordered seeds and may be starting plants in the greenhouse for transplanting later this spring.  As the local water districts (Placer County Water Agency and the Nevada Irrigation District) consider reductions in summer water deliveries, growers are faced with hard decisions about what and how much to actually plant - should they plant their normal acreage given the risk that they may not be able to irrigate all of it?  Both irrigation districts sell water by the miner's inch (a remnant of our Gold Rush days) - one miner's inch is generally enough to irrigate one acre of vegetables in the hottest months of the summer.  If irrigation deliveries are reduced, many vegetable growers will be forced to reduce production.

For permanent crops (that is, crops like fruit trees, cane berries and grapes), a reduction in water may force farmers to sacrifice specific blocks of trees or vines.  In other words, farmers will need to decide which trees to keep alive with irrigation water during the summer - and which to allow to die.  In some cases, this may be an opportunity to take older, less productive trees or vines out of production.  In the short term, however, reduced production presents cash flow problems for growers.

So what does all of this mean for those of us who enjoy our locally grown bounty?  The laws of supply and demand suggest that prices may rise if production falls due to the drought.  Perhaps more importantly, it means that some small growers may not remain in business.  Others may take on off-farm work to address their cash flow needs. In the long run, the drought will help us all better understand the importance of reliable water to our local food system.

In the meantime, what can we all do to alleviate the water shortage?  Simple things, like taking shorter showers, capturing rainwater and planting drought-tolerant landscaping, can help.  Perhaps we should consider establishing a community-focused funding source that can help local farmers adopt water conservation technology and practices.  Most importantly, I think we can talk - simply acknowledging that our local farmers are dealing with difficult conditions can help make these conditions more bearable!