Farming is a business, and almonds are a very profitable crop. It is also a fact that almonds use up more water than other crops, as does rice, in drought stricken California. It is probably unrealistic to expect farmers, and investors who fund producers, to voluntarily sacrifice profits and switch to less profitable crops that use less water. It is realistic to expect state water resources control boards, during periods of extreme drought, to place limits on how much ground water can be extracted. It is up to the State of California to enforce groundwater use limits to conserve water in a drought. The same should hold true for all states with drought conditions.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:47:31 +0000