Tag: Crop farming

Mississippi grain company’s ex-CEO indicted on fraud charges

GREENVILLE, Miss. — The former leader of a Mississippi grain storage and processing company has been indicted on federal and state charges, more than a year after the company filed for bankruptcy, prosecutors said Tuesday.

John R. Coleman, 46, of Greenwood, Mississippi, is the former CEO of Express Grain Terminals, LLC.

A federal grand jury indicted Coleman on charges of defrauding farmers, banks and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a news release.

Coleman made his initial appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jane M. Virden in Greenville. Federal court records did not list an attorney for him.

Federal court documents say that from June 2018 to October 2022, Coleman altered Express Grain’s audited financial statements to receive a state warehouse license and lied about the amount of debt he owed on corn, wheat, soybeans or other crops held at the facility.

The federal indictment said farmers delivered grain to Express Grain throughout the 2021 harvest season but did not receive payment.

The indictment said that Express Grain sent an email to customers on Sept. 28, 2021, with wording approved by Coleman. The message said the company was in good financial shape.

“We have funding from multiple sources to make sure everyone gets paid on time,” the company email said. “Stay safe out there and keep those combines rolling!”

The next day, Express Grain eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

“Coleman’s fraud caused widespread financial hardship and suffering throughout the Mississippi Delta and elsewhere,” the federal indictment said.

In September 2021, Express Grain had $70 million in outstanding loans from UMB Bank in Kansas City, Missouri.

If convicted on the federal charges, Coleman would face up to 180 years in prison.

Fitch also said a Leflore County grand jury has indicted Coleman on five counts of making false representations to defraud government and one count of false pretenses.

The FBI, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service are investigating the case.

Law enforcement agents raided the Express Grain offices and Coleman’s home in February, days before the company’s properties were sold at auction, the Greenwood Commonwealth reported. A legal battle over Express Grain’s proceeds was settled earlier this year. Farmers who chose to participate in the settlement were able to claim a share of $9 million.

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December 6, 2022
EPA seeks to mandate more use of ethanol and other biofuels

MINNEAPOLIS — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed increasing the amount of ethanol and other biofuels that must be blended into the nation’s fuel supplies over the next three years, a move welcomed by renewable fuel and farm groups but condemned by environmentalists and oil industry groups.

“This proposal supports low-carbon renewable fuels and seeks public input on ways to strengthen the program,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “With this proposal, EPA seeks to provide consumers with more options while diversifying our nation’s energy mix.”

The proposal also includes new incentives to encourage the use of biogas from farms and landfills, and renewable biomass such as wood, to generate electricity to charge electric vehicles. It’s the first time the EPA has set biofuel targets on its own instead of using numbers from Congress. The agency opened a public comment period and will hold a hearing in January.

The goal of the existing Renewable Fuel Standard is to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, expand the country’s fuel supply, strengthen energy security and reduce fuel prices for consumers. Ethanol is a key part of the economy in many Midwest states, consuming about 40% of the nation’s corn supply.

But environmentalists argue that it’s a net ecological and climate detriment because growing all that corn fosters unsustainable farming practices, while the oil industry says ethanol mandates constrain free market forces and limit consumer choice, and that higher blends can damage older vehicles.

Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told reporters on a conference call that the EPA’s plan creates a “clear pathway for sustainable growth for our industry when it comes to the production and use of low-carbon fuels like ethanol.” He said it also bolsters the industry’s push for year-round sales of gasoline with a 15% ethanol blend, as well as sales of the 85% ethanol blend E85.

“As the administration is working to address climate change, we’ve long known that biofuels will play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases while having the added benefit of providing expanded opportunities for farmers,” National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said in a statement.

But environmental groups said the plan offers false solutions to climate change.

“This is a toxic plan directly at odds with the Biden Administration’s commitment to Environmental Justice,” Sarah Lutz, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. “Charging electric vehicles with forests and factory farms should be a non-starter.”

Geoff Moody, senior vice president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said the Renewable Fuel Standard was meant to be a liquid fuels program, not an electric vehicle program. He urged the EPA to go back as it develops the final rule and reject “yet another massive regulatory subsidy for electric vehicle manufacturers.”

The EPA proposes to set the total target for all kinds of renewable fuels at 20.82 billion gallons for 2023, including 15 billion gallons from corn ethanol. The target would grow to 22.68 billion gallons for 2025, including 15.25 billion gallons of corn ethanol. The plan also calls for growth in cellulosic biofuels — which are made from fibrous plant materials — biomass-based diesel and other advanced biofuels.

Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, the country’s top corn and ethanol producing state, said in a statement that the EPA should have gone further to require even more use of advanced biofuels to move freight, which he said would help lower prices for consumer goods.

Cooper said there’s probably no way to meet the proposed higher targets without more use of E15 and E85 instead of the conventional 10% ethanol mix. That makes it important to eliminate regulations that block summertime sales of E15, he said.

So, he predicted, the EPA’s proposal should bolster prospects for legislation introduced this week by Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, and GOP Sen. Deb Fischer, of Nebraska, to allow year-round sales of E15 nationwide. E15 sales are usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

Eight Midwest governors asked the EPA in April to allow year-round sales of E15 in their states. But Cooper said the new bill would provide a “nationwide fix” that even the American Petroleum Institute considers preferable to the current patchwork of temporary waivers and ad hoc solutions.

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December 1, 2022
State: New York’s first pot crop jeopardized by court fight

Albany, N.Y. — A court fight that has prevented New York from awarding marijuana dispensary licenses in some parts of the state could wind up hurting small farms that just harvested their first cannabis crop, officials warned a judge Tuesday.

New York on Monday issued its first 36 licenses for dispensaries, which will become the only places in the state where recreational marijuana is sold legally.

The state, though, has had to delay plans to authorize scores more dispensaries because of a legal battle over its licensing criteria.

U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe in Albany blocked the state from issuing licenses in Brooklyn and swaths of upstate New York after a company owned by a Michigan resident challenged a requirement that applicants demonstrate “a significant presence in New York state.”

In a court filing Tuesday, the state asked the judge to loosen that injunction to prevent jeopardizing a marijuana harvest worth an estimated $1.5 billion, now waiting to be distributed to retailers.

“If the farmers, who were already issued cultivating licenses, have nowhere to sell their crop, they will lose the millions of dollars that have been collectively invested in their businesses, some may lose their businesses, and they will otherwise be forced into the predicament of either watching their crops rot and expire or selling them on the illicit market,” Assistant Attorney General Amanda Kuryluk wrote.

The court filing, made on behalf of the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, suggested that the company challenging its exclusion from the applicant pool, Variscite NY One, would most likely only be considered for a dispensary in the Finger Lakes region in the state’s center.

Blocking the state from approving licenses in four other regions including central and western New York, the mid-Hudson and Brooklyn, would cause “significantly more harm than necessary,” the state argued.

It was unclear when Sharpe might rule on the request.

Christian Kernkamp, a lawyer representing Variscite, said in an emailed statement that the company had hoped to resolve the case before it wound up hindering marijuana sales, but the state refused to settle.

“The injunction could be over tomorrow, but the State prefers instead to litigate even though the court has already found a ‘clear likelihood’ that the State violated Variscite’s constitutional rights,” he said.

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Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on Twitter.

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November 23, 2022
Cocoa farmers fear climate change lowering crop production

KOREAGUI, Ivory Coast — For more than 40 years, Jean Baptiste Saleyo has farmed cocoa on several acres of his family’s land in Ivory Coast, a West African nation that produces almost half the world’s supply of the raw ingredient used in chocolate bars.

But this year Saleyo says the rains have become unpredictable, and he fears his crop could be yet another victim of climate change.

“When it should have rained, it didn’t, it didn’t rain,” Saleyo said as he inspected the ripeness of one of his cocoa pods. “It’s raining now, but its already too late.”

Cocoa farming employs nearly 600,000 farmers here in Ivory Coast, ultimately supporting nearly a quarter of the country’s population — about 6 million people, according to the Coffee-Cocoa Council.

And it makes up about 15% of Ivory Coast’s national GDP, according to official figures.

National production remains on track because the amount of land being cultivated is on the rise. But experts say small-scale farmers are hurting this year. For the cocoa tree to fruit well, rains need to come at the right times in the growing cycle. Coming at the wrong times risks crop disease.

Some who are used to producing 500 kilograms are looking at only 200 kilograms this year, said Jean Yao Brou, secretary-general of the Anouanze cooperative, which helps farmers bring their crops to markets.

“Our producers have big worries with the production,” he said.

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November 12, 2022
EXPLAINER: Where will Hawaii’s biggest volcano erupt from?

HONOLULU — The ground is shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, indicating that it could erupt. Scientists say they don’t expect that to happen right away but officials on the Big Island of Hawaii are telling residents to be prepared in case it does erupt soon. Here’s are some things to know about the volcano.

WHERE IS MAUNA LOA?

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.

It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater. Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.

Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago. In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

The Big Island is mostly rural and is home to cattle ranches, coffee farms and beach resorts. It’s about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Hawaii’s most populous island, Oahu, where the state capital Honolulu and beach resort Waikiki are both located.

WILL MAUNA LOA ERUPT LIKE KILAUEA?

Mauna Loa’s eruptions differ from Kilauea’s in part because it is taller. It’s greater height gives it steeper slopes, which allow lava to rush down its hillsides faster than Kilauea’s.

It’s enormous size may allow it to store more magma, leading to larger lava flows when an eruption occurs.

Frank Trusdell, research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which is part of the U.S. Geological Survey, said data indicates that Mauna Loa has a much larger magma reservoir than Kilauea, which may allow it to hold more lava and rest longer between eruptions than Kilauea.

WHERE WILL MAUNA LOA ERUPT FROM?

Scientists won’t know until the eruption begins. Each eruption since 1843 started at the summit. Half the time, the volcano later also began erupting from vents at lower elevations. The other half of the time it only erupted in the summit caldera.

Scientists can’t tell far in advance when and where Mauna Loa will open new vents and erupt.

Vents generally form along the volcano’s rift zone. That’s where the mountain is splitting apart, the rock is cracked and relatively weak and it’s easier for magma to emerge.

An eruption from vents on the southwest rift zone could hit residential communities, coffee farms or coastal villages on the west side of the island. Lava could reach homes in just hours or days.

The west side’s most populous town would be protected from any Mauna Loa eruption by the presence of another active volcano. The broad flanks of that volcano, Hualalai, sit between Mauna Loa’s southwest rift zone and Kailua-Kona and would block any lava heading toward the coastal community.

An eruption from the northeast rift zone could send lava toward the county seat of Hilo or other towns in East Hawaii. It could take lava weeks or months to reach populated areas on this side of the mountain.

Scott Rowland, a geologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said there’s no pattern when it comes to where an eruption will occur.

“Just because the last one was on the northeast rift zone does not mean the next one will be down the southwest rift zone,” he said.

WILL MAUNA LOA EXPLODE LIKE MOUNT ST. HELENS?

Fifty-seven people died when Washington state’s Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and blasted more than 1,300 feet (400 meters) off the top of the mountain. Steam, rocks and volcanic gas burst upward and outward. A plume of volcanic ash rose over 80,000 feet (24,384 meters) and rained down as far as 250 miles (400 kilometers) away.

Hawaii volcanoes like Mauna Loa tend not to have explosion eruptions like this.

That’s because their magma is hotter, drier and more fluid, said Hannah Dietterich, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The magma in Mount St. Helens tends to be stickier and traps more gas, making it much more likely to explode when it rises.

The gas in the magma of Hawaii’s volcanoes tends to escape, and so lava flows down the side of their mountains when they erupt.

Hawaii’s volcanoes are called shield volcanoes because successive lava flows over hundreds of thousands of years build broad mountains that resemble the shape of a warrior’s shield.

Shield volcanos are also found in California and Idaho as well as Iceland and the Galapagos Islands. Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park has eight shield volcanoes including Mount Wrangell.

Volcanoes like Mount St. Helens are called composite or stratovolcanoes. Their steep, conical slopes are built by the eruption of viscous lava flows and rock, ash and gas. Japan’s Mount Fuji is another example of a composite volcano.

HOW DO SCIENTISTS MONITOR MAUNA LOA?

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has more than 60 GPS stations on Mauna Loa taking measurements to estimate the location and the amount of magma accumulating beneath the surface.

Scientists use tiltmeters to track long-term changes in the tilting of the ground, helping them identify when the ground is swelling or deflating. A rapid change in tilt can indicate when an eruption will occur.

There’s also a thermal webcam at Mauna Loa’s summit that will identify the presence of heat. And satellite radar can keep track of ground swelling and deflation.

———

Associated Press Writer Mark Thiessen contributed to this report from Anchorage, Alaska.

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November 2, 2022
Ian’s damage to Florida agriculture as high as $1.8 billion

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Ian caused as much as $1.8 billion in damages to Florida agriculture last month, state agriculture officials said.

The Category 4 storm caused between $1.1 billion and $1.8 billion in losses to the state’s crops and agriculture infrastructure when it tore through the peninsula after landing in southwest Florida, according to a preliminary estimate released Monday by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The agency’s estimate was in the same range as a University of Florida preliminary estimate released last week that put Florida’s agriculture loss as high as $1.5 billion.

Crop damage ranged from $686 million to $1.2 billion. The biggest losses came from citrus which had damages between $416 million and $675 million, the Department of Agriculture report said. The hurricane hit almost at the start of the citrus growing season in Florida, which produces about 60% of all the citrus consumed in the U.S.

Not only did citrus growers lose fruit that was blown off trees, but they now face the prospect of damaged trees from flooding. The loss could amount to as much as 11% of citrus trees, the report said. Even before the hurricane, Florida’s orange production was predicted to be down by almost a third this season because of the deadly citrus greening disease.

When it comes to non-citrus fruits and vegetables, Florida lost an estimated $153.7 million to $230.5 million, or around 10% to 15% of crops, just as the planting season was getting into full gear. Many fields lost plastic and drip-tape irrigation and other infrastructure, the report said.

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October 25, 2022
After Hurricane Ian, Florida citrus and agriculture struggle

ZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. — The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds like so many green and yellow marbles are only the start of the disaster for citrus grower Roy Petteway.

The fruit strewn about his 100-acre (40-hectare) grove in central Florida since the storm swept through will mostly go to waste. But what are even worse are the flood and rain waters that weakened the orange trees in ways that are difficult to see right away.

“For the next six months we’ll be evaluating the damage,” Petteway said in an interview at his farm, where he estimates about a 40% crop loss. “You’re going to have a lot of damage that will rear its head.”

Citrus is big business in Florida, with more than 375,000 acres (152,000 hectares) in the state devoted to oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and the like for an industry valued at more than $6 billion annually. Hurricane Ian hit the citrus groves hard, as well as the state’s large cattle industry, dairy operations, vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and even hundreds of thousands of bees essential to many growers.

“This year will be tough, no one is disputing that, but I believe in the tenacity and passion of our citrus industry professionals to come back stronger than ever,” said Nikki Fried, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The orange forecast for 2022-2023, released Wednesday, puts production at about 28 million boxes, or 1.26 million tons, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. That’s 32% below the year before and does not account for damage from the hurricane, which will surely worsen those numbers.

Most Florida oranges are used to make juice, and this season’s drastically lower harvest, combined with the still-unquantified slam from Ian, will press prices upward and force producers to rely even more heavily on California and imported oranges from Latin America.

“This is a gut punch. There’s no doubt about it,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association. “You’ve really got about 72 hours to get the water off these trees before you start sustaining significant damage if not mortality. Trees need water to grow. They don’t need to be standing in water.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who appeared at a Florida Citrus Mutual event this week in Zolfo Springs, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Tampa, said about $3 billion in federal funding is needed to cover costs from loss of crops and trees. And, Rubio told about 500 people at the gathering, it’s crucial not to let the storm make agricultural land disappear.

“When you lose land, and what happens is people can’t afford to keep doing this anymore, and that land is taken. It’s gone,” the Republican senator said. “I’ve never seen a mall turned back into agricultural land.”

Then there are the bees.

The University of Florida estimates that about 380,000 known bee colonies were in the path of Hurricane Ian as it bisected the state. The storm not only damaged the beehives themselves, but also blew off blossoms, leading some bees to raid other colonies for the honey they need to eat.

“Masses of honeybee colonies submerged in water are in distress,” the Florida Farm Bureau said in a statement. “Bee pollination is critical to the livelihood of our state’s plants and crops, and is just one example of the long-term effects of this deadly storm.”

More than 100 people died in Florida from the storm, about half of those in hardest-hit Lee County, where the powerful Category 4 hurricane came ashore with 155 mph (259 kph) winds on Sept 28.

Hardee County, home to Petteway’s citrus and cattle operation, recorded four of those storm-related deaths. Adding to that tragedy, the long-term effects on the farm industry will add broad impacts on the community.

“If you eat, you’re part of agriculture,” Petteway, a fifth-generation Floridian, said during the tour of his groves. “We were anticipating a very good crop this year. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just a devastating thing.”

As Petteway drove around on a golf cart, in a neighboring pasture he spotted a brand-new donkey foal he hadn’t noticed before the hurricane. Coincidentally, not long after the storm passed, his wife gave birth to a daughter, now just over week old.

The people in these rural parts of Florida, he said, will recover as they always have.

“This was going to be the first good year in a while,” he said. “We’re a resilient bunch. This is just another hurdle.”

———

For more coverage of Hurricane Ian, go to: https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes

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October 15, 2022
After Hurricane Ian, Florida citrus and agriculture struggle

ZOLFO SPRINGS, Fla. — The thousands of oranges scattered on the ground by Hurricane Ian’s fierce winds like so many green and yellow marbles are only the start of the disaster for citrus grower Roy Petteway.

The fruit strewn about his 100-acre (40-hectare) grove in central Florida since the storm swept through will mostly go to waste. But what are even worse are the flood and rain waters that weakened the orange trees in ways that are difficult to see right away.

“For the next six months we’ll be evaluating the damage,” Petteway said in an interview at his farm, where he estimates about a 40% crop loss. “You’re going to have a lot of damage that will rear its head.”

Citrus is big business in Florida, with more than 375,000 acres (152,000 hectares) in the state devoted to oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and the like for an industry valued at more than $6 billion annually. Hurricane Ian hit the citrus groves hard, as well as the state’s large cattle industry, dairy operations, vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and even hundreds of thousands of bees essential to many growers.

“This year will be tough, no one is disputing that, but I believe in the tenacity and passion of our citrus industry professionals to come back stronger than ever,” said Nikki Fried, commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The orange forecast for 2022-2023, released Wednesday, puts production at about 28 million boxes, or 1.26 million tons, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. That’s 32% below the year before and does not account for damage from the hurricane, which will surely worsen those numbers.

Most Florida oranges are used to make juice, and this season’s drastically lower harvest, combined with the still-unquantified slam from Ian, will press prices upward and force producers to rely even more heavily on California and imported oranges from Latin America.

“This is a gut punch. There’s no doubt about it,” said Matt Joyner, CEO of the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association. “You’ve really got about 72 hours to get the water off these trees before you start sustaining significant damage if not mortality. Trees need water to grow. They don’t need to be standing in water.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who appeared at a Florida Citrus Mutual event this week in Zolfo Springs, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Tampa, said about $3 billion in federal funding is needed to cover costs from loss of crops and trees. And, Rubio told about 500 people at the gathering, it’s crucial not to let the storm make agricultural land disappear.

“When you lose land, and what happens is people can’t afford to keep doing this anymore, and that land is taken. It’s gone,” the Republican senator said. “I’ve never seen a mall turned back into agricultural land.”

Then there are the bees.

The University of Florida estimates that about 380,000 known bee colonies were in the path of Hurricane Ian as it bisected the state. The storm not only damaged the beehives themselves, but also blew off blossoms, leading some bees to raid other colonies for the honey they need to eat.

“Masses of honeybee colonies submerged in water are in distress,” the Florida Farm Bureau said in a statement. “Bee pollination is critical to the livelihood of our state’s plants and crops, and is just one example of the long-term effects of this deadly storm.”

More than 100 people died in Florida from the storm, about half of those in hardest-hit Lee County, where the powerful Category 4 hurricane came ashore with 155 mph (259 kph) winds on Sept 28.

Hardee County, home to Petteway’s citrus and cattle operation, recorded four of those storm-related deaths. Adding to that tragedy, the long-term effects on the farm industry will add broad impacts on the community.

“If you eat, you’re part of agriculture,” Petteway, a fifth-generation Floridian, said during the tour of his groves. “We were anticipating a very good crop this year. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just a devastating thing.”

As Petteway drove around on a golf cart, in a neighboring pasture he spotted a brand-new donkey foal he hadn’t noticed before the hurricane. Coincidentally, not long after the storm passed, his wife gave birth to a daughter, now just over week old.

The people in these rural parts of Florida, he said, will recover as they always have.

“This was going to be the first good year in a while,” he said. “We’re a resilient bunch. This is just another hurdle.”

———

For more coverage of Hurricane Ian, go to: https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes

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October 15, 2022
California braces for dry winter as Western drought drags on

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The past three years have been California’s driest on record, a streak unlikely to break this winter, state officials said Monday.

The official water year concluded Friday, marking an end to a period that saw both record rainfall in October and the driest January-to-March period in at least a century. Scientists say such weather whiplash is likely to become more common as the planet warms. It will take more than a few winter storms to help the state dig out of drought.

“This is our new climate reality, and we must adapt,” Karla Nemeth, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said in a statement.

Her comments came ahead of expected remarks Monday by state water officials about what to expect in the months ahead. The water year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, so that the rainiest winter months are recorded together.

Snow that falls in California’s mountains typically provides one-third of the state’s annual water supply, but last year snow levels were far below average by the end of the winter. The Colorado River, another major source of water for Southern California, is also beset by drought, threatening its ability to supply farmers and cities around the U.S. West.

Precipitation was 76% of average for the year that just ended, and the state’s reservoirs are at 69% of their historical levels, state officials said.

Most of the state is in severe or extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The worst conditions are throughout the Central Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland where many of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts are grown.

Another dry year would mean little to no water deliveries from state supplies to farmers and cities in central and Southern California. State and local officials, meanwhile, continue to urge California’s 39 million residents to save water wherever possible by ripping out grass lawns or letting them go brown, taking shorter showers and generally being more conscious about water use.

There are signs that the state and its residents are better learning to deal with ongoing dry periods, said Jeff Mount, a senior fellow with the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. With limited water supplies, farmers in the northern part of the state have fallowed rice fields, while major water agencies in the south have started to look for ways to expand water supply through recycling and other means.

Still, drought fatigue may be setting in. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called on residents last year to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%. The state still hasn’t met that target and water use went up in the spring compared to prior years. But use has started to tick down after state water officials put new restrictions on outdoor watering.

“We’re not fighting anymore about whether things are changing — we’re having reasonable fights about how to adapt to it,” Mount said.

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October 3, 2022