"California farmers and ranchers must work together to maintain and grow our political relevance. We must maintain strong cross-commodity and regional cooperation, so we can maximize our effectiveness."
AgAlert
Mike Wade: Technology Advances Agriculture
"Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, said, 'Agriculture has always adopted new available technology once it becomes affordable. Farmers are willing adopters to become more efficient, whether it’s drip irrigation, soil management or reducing evapotranspiration.'"
California Ag Today
Almond grower says flooding orchards replenishes groundwater
"One of the pioneers in field trials to replenish aquifers by flooding farmland in California’s San Joaquin Valley says the practice could be a crucial step in maintaining the region’s groundwater supplies."
Capital Press
Editorial: California’s water challenges require action by one and all
"Yes, this drought has been painful and costly for many. It also has been an eye-opener – to the realities confronting our state and the ways we can more effectively use water."
Fresno Bee
Drought Turns Spotlight On Future Of California Farms
"If there is a piece of fruit, a vegetable or even a nut or two on your dinner table tonight, there's a good chance it was grown in California. And while some of California's agriculture industry is suffering from four years of extreme drought, a few farmers have found a way to adapt and even thrive in the dry conditions."
NPR
Valley famers now see drought as rule, not exception: ‘There is a real fear out there’
"Farmers talk of a new reality – one in which droughts are more of the rule than the exception, and water availability, both above and below ground, becomes less certain."
Fresno Bee
Stanislaus outreach bridges the farm-city gap
“One of our biggest outreaches is letting people know that our farmers and ranchers are suffering through this drought too,” said Wayne Zipser, executive director of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau. “We, as producers, are suffering, and we have made tremendous strides in conserving water.”
California Ag Today
UC scientists test inexpensive way to capture El Niño rains
"The method known as on-farm recharge could help capture some of the El Niño deluge and replenish California's diminishing groundwater supply."
San Francisco Chronicle
New Partnership Explores Groundwater Recharge
"The Almond Board of California and Sustainable Conservation, an organization that helps growers and other businesses protect the environment, have partnered to examine how orchards can play a part in recharging groundwater aquifers after years of drought."
Growing Produce
Farmers Take Tech to New Heights
"Technology is nothing new. Tractors replaced horses more than a century ago, and the 1980s brought desktop computers to farms and other businesses. Today’s mobile phones and tablets have brought technology right to the field, and small unmanned aircraft watch from above."
The Modesto Bee
Winter Flooding to Recharge Underground Aquifers Under the Mircroscope
"Researchers developed a soil agricultural groundwater banking index to evaluate whether different soil types, cropland, or topography would be suitable to flood to help recharge."
Western Farm Press
The Sushi Project: Farming Fish and Rice in California's Fields
"There is persuasive evidence that salmon benefit greatly by lingering in flooded rice fields."
Environment Press
Recharge Method Could Boost Merced-area aquifers up to 20 percent, report says
"The report from the California Water Foundation said the method, using excess river flows during wet winters, also could be used in Stanislaus and other counties with concerns about overpumping."
The Modesto Bee
3 Ways Teamwork Helps Birds Survive California's Drought
"Each fall, rice farmers flood their fields with two to four inches of water to break down rice stubble—making the paddies ideal migratory bird habitat."
Audubon
California's Growers Bear Brunt of Drought Woes
"California’s historic drought is forcing farmers in the dominant produce-growing state to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres and spend millions of dollars to access water."
The Wall Street Journal