The Pros And Cons Of Supporting The California Almond Industry

In 1990, there were over 9300 dairy farms in Ontario housing almost 450,000 cows. The farm-gate value of milk produced exceeded 1.3 billion dollars. At the retail level, dairy product sales in Ontario exceeded 4 billion dollars. The number of dairy herds in Ontario on a milk-testing program had declined from about 7100 in 1985 to 6000 in 1990. Moreover, a continued decrease was projected.

Californians are being heavily fined for using a certain amount of water a month, which impacts the daily lives of everyone. Water is a natural resource that is crucial to everyone’s survival. Whether if it’s being used for cooking, showering, gardening, washing your car or just simply drinking purposes; water is a necessity for everyone. Though the bill has not yet been passed by congress and officially has not become a law, the issue still remains on the table. The drought in California has taken a massive toll on agriculture, the environment and infrastructure. The drought is on its route to damage California’s climate change. In the past three consecutive years the average rain fall has drastically decreased, and the winter temperatures have increased. Since majority of California’s water comes from the Western Rocky Mountains, the water supply there is dropping resulting in more strict laws and regulations on how much water can be consumed by the average

In the article,”The Wrong Way to Think about California Water,” by Michael Hiltzik, Hiltzik explains how people think the scarce water in California is being used, and explains how the water is actually being used. He begins by saying bottled water is something the press is complaining about, but not much water is being bottled compared to the amount used for agriculture. He then explains how people think that we use too much water on nuts specifically almonds. Hiltzik says that although a lot of water is used for agriculture, nuts like almonds are actually water efficient compared to other crops. The author’s final points are that we should be complaining about the water used on lawns and that we need to create

America’s vast food supply has increased. Foods that were once hard to come by can be found in almost all the grocery stores across the nation. In the article “What’s Eating America”, by Michael Pollan, who is a professor of journalism, explains how the bounty of food came about. He writes about the creation of synthetic fertilizer and how it was used to fertilize crops and essentially make all the foods today. He writes about the harmful effects that are occurring as a result of the chemically made fertilizer. In another article called written by Katherine Spriggs, a student from Stanford University, she writes about the benefits of buying local versus becoming dependent on the import of food. She feels that buying from local farms

California’s continuous drought not only affects California, but essentially impacts the entire food system. Could you imagine an entire state unable to contribute to the growing demands of a thriving economy? As California enters its fifth year of drought the consequences of an ever depleting natural resource, water, continues to negatively impact landscape plants, agricultural production, wildlife, and the economy. The lack of water in California has the potential to have a devastating effect on an ever thriving economy.

Due to the shut off many farmers did not get the rationing of water they need to plant, so many fields will sit idle this fall and spring. California produces 53% of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. California is also the leading food producer to the world. Some people do not even know California is facing a water crisis, and more of them did not know California is the Nation’s food producer. In a recent survey 76% knew of the water crisis; however, only 56% of them knew that California is the leading food producer. With many of the state’s fields sitting idle this fall and spring it is going to cause the produce prices to increase. It also causes the loss of thousands of jobs. An outraged woman spoke out about the

The almond industry is responsible for thousands of jobs and is a very big money maker for the economy. If there aren’t as many almonds produced, the income from these nuts will drastically drop. Another factor is the nut itself changing. "Water is a huge challenge," said Richard Waycott, chief executive of the state almond board. The stingy water supplies resulted in smaller almonds this year. (Pierson). People love almonds for their size and health benefits. “Almonds are an excellent source of Vitamin E, B Vitamins, Magnesium, Fiber, Calcium, Potassium, Monounsaturated Fat, and Protein” (Almond Growth Explained). This is a reason why the export of almonds overseas to other countries is a big deal. The health benefits are key to the success of the almond. The expectations of farmers are high to produce enough almonds to fulfill the growing demands. Even if the amount was the same, the size of almonds would make a big difference in consumers buying them. “Still, with almond prices nearly doubling in the last five years to $2.58 a pound, it's little wonder that growers have been abandoning crops such as cotton and furiously planting almond trees.”

“Economists at the University of California, Davis said that agriculture, once a $44 billion annual business in California, will suffer a financial hit of $2.2 billion due to revenue losses and higher water costs” (Associated Press, 2014). Many farmers are going out of business because the production costs have increased with rising inflation, while revenue has decreased. Others have reduced their farmland plantations which decreases the crop production. Some of the affected crops include oranges, pistachios and rice. One example of how this affects the nation is the California almonds. “California [is] the source of eighty percent of the world’s almonds” (Bloomberg, 2014). This year farmers had to come up with new tactics to rescue the nut from drought “by diverting the water used for vegetables and drilling more water wells to keep the trees hydrated” (Bloomberg, 2014). Farmers are not the only group of workers affected by the drought.

California is undergoing a huge environmental crisis of water shortages across the state. California produces almost half of the US grown vegetables, fruits, and nuts. It produces more than 400 commodities (CDFA,2013). The drought has had a huge effect on agriculture because the farmers have received drastic cuts on their water usages which greatly affected their yields. The whole United States is feeling the effects due to the drought because of less crop yields, prices have

On March 27, 2014, Wade Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle reported “The Water Revolution California needs.” California is having a severe drought. Wade Graham tells his readers that California is in a serious water crisis. The state of California needs to make strict changes to how water is being distributed amongst farmers and residents. Before all of California’s ecological system is destroyed. Wade Graham believes that water should be priced higher; that way people aren’t wasting water. Water is a limited resource that should never be wasted, and is probably California’s most valuable resource. Unfortunately, many people waste water; instead of conserve water especially when we live in the state of California where we are subject to

Jointly funding the U.S. Peanut Resources and Efficiency Measures Report conducted by the independent research firm IHS Global Insight, which found major potential improvements in farming practices among U.S. peanut farmers as they are its major suppliers . Dairy ingredients

To conclude, our current way of agricultural life is not sustainable. The article “What’s for supper” has made me realize that if I hope for a better future for generations to come I should support a locally sourced lifestyle. This article is an eye opener to me and proved to me the importance of supporting locally grown produce. Locally grown produce supports the environment as well as jobs for people in the community. The current system takes a toll on every species on the planet. Humans are overproducing on a massive scale and are wasting close to half of our supplies and

The California Drought is one of the most catastrophic weather and climate related events in recent history. It has singlehandedly altered the geographic landscape of the state and brought down entire industries to a grinding halt. Not since global warming became a prominent fixture in the national spotlight has a climate issue so deeply challenged Californians to reconsider their lifestyles according to their climate conditions. This essay will examine the origins of climate change and the California Drought, how the two are related, the current state of California as a result of the drought, and the future outlook of California.

In recent years, California’s water shortage has been an issue and in 2014 an alarming driest historical year has impacted the state in different ways. Because of the lack of rainfall and snow, California’s reservoirs are running insignificant water basins below their capacity. While water shortages are experienced slowly and throughout a length of time, the harshest impacts are noticeable in areas that produce California’s food where wells are used as resource for water in agriculture, and residential areas. Though, most agree the drought is an issue some do not agree. To understand the circumstances, this paper will look at the drought’s impacts on California’s economy for agricultural, famers, and consumers. Also, this written work will examine the environmental consequences of surface water obtainability, and the areas that have encounter the most devastating affects. For most, this paper will examine the allocations of the governor’s drought declaration, and the strategies used by residents to conserver water.

Milk and dairy products are in great abundance throughout the state of California, and is a constant stream of revenue for the state. Therefore, the CDFA sees it fit to make sure that all of the dairy and milk that is produced locally is safe for consumption and that it will live up to a certain standard set by the department. As described in the mission statement from the CDFA, “The Milk and Dairy Food Safety Branch (MDFS) is charged with the mission and responsibility of ensuring that California's milk, milk products, and products resembling milk products are safe and wholesome, meet microbial and compositional requirements and are properly labeled.” (cdfa.org) As milk and dairy is also a big staple of interstate commerce, it must be adequately prepared even when conditions are less than ideal. A big example of this is seen when we examine the effects that the long drought has had on the crop. Some farmers from outside of the state have even tried to persuade California farmers into moving. As CNBC states in an article, "Increasingly every year, there are more states showing up at the World Ag Expo to entice California dairies to move to their states, and they're finding a receptive audience.” (Daniels) The promise of a stable water supply and the chance to be more competitive in a smaller state is apparently attractive to some farmers, and they seem to be weighing up their options. Without sufficient