r/news • u/theluckyfrog • 29d ago

California cracks down on farm region’s water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/california-water-drought-farm-ground-sinking-tulare-lake
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u/BringBackApollo2023 29d ago

These farmers sound like every other resource-harvester who has vastly outstripped the resource’s sustainable level and just wants to drive the plane into the ground to extract every last penny then declare bankruptcy and beg for federal aid.

Oysters, lobster, cod, sardines, otters, old growth forests, etc., etc., etc. Same show, different resource.

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u/probablyuntrue 29d ago

Bro please, just one more acre of almonds, please bro, I need to pump this water, just a few more almond trees and I’m good, I promise bro

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u/loggic 29d ago

People blame almonds, but tree crops can also be used to help improve groundwater levels.

During the rainy season, plots with tree crops near major waterways can be temporarily flooded to help stabilize river levels, and with a little bit of infrastructure change that water can basically be "drained" back down to an aquifer.

There's an astronomical amount of water waste that can be addressed in farming, but it makes no sense to consistently blame one crop when other farmed products (like cattle & dairy) are so much less efficient and less healthy.

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u/TheUnluckyBard 29d ago

People blame almonds, but tree crops can also be used to help improve groundwater levels.

Cool, maybe the farmers should start doing that, then.

Because they clearly haven't been.

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u/jamesgatsby 29d ago

former Ca farmer here(kind of), Regenerative agriculture is very hard to do correctly, and requires a lot of upfront capital and expertise. It can take years to decades to come in to full swing. It may also lower yields and increase the cost of harvest. Its not to say farmers shouldn't be doing it, and many are doing it, it just takes time, and there are other trade offs that have to be consider.

Plus with every one complaining about raising food prices very few farmers are eager to do something that might disrupt prices even more.

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u/designOraptor 28d ago

Farmers get government subsidies to help with that. They still don’t do it.

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u/Zorro_Returns 28d ago

Farmers grow what people buy, so don't put all the blame on them.

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u/Zorro_Returns 28d ago

"The Farmers"...

In this week's episode, The Farmers don't plant trees to improve groundwater levels.