California drought: Central Valley farmland on its last legs

[dbackjon]

Even before the drought, the southern San Joaquin Valley was in big trouble.

Decades of irrigation have leached salts and toxic minerals from the soil that have nowhere to go, threatening crops and wildlife. Aquifers are being drained at an alarming pace. More than 95 percent of the area's native habitat has been destroyed by cultivation or urban expansion, leaving more endangered bird, mammal and other species in the southern San Joaquin than anywhere in the continental U.S.

Federal studies long ago concluded that the only sensible solution is to retire hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. Some farming interests have reached the same conclusion, even as they publicly blamed an endangered minnow to the north, known as the delta smelt, for the water restrictions that have forced them to fallow their fields.

The 600,000-acre Westlands Water District, representing farmers on the west side of the valley, has already removed tens of thousands of acres from irrigation and proposed converting damaged cropland to solar farms.

Many experts said if farmers don't retire the land, nature eventually will do it for them.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/C ... 342892.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

The only obvious solution is to let nature take it's course with the so called "endangered species" .

Don't these liberals know that solar farms kill birds!

[Bronco]

According to this... the drought is partially the fault of the California Moonbats

A fishy drought in California, made worse by a smelt
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... alifornia/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[D1B]

Nice work Tman, BDPSSYHR, Bunco, ALPACAJIZ1 and the rest of the enemies of mother nature.

[dbackjon]

According to this... the drought is partially the fault of the California Moonbats

A fishy drought in California, made worse by a smelt
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... alifornia/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did you read my article - directly refutes the misinformation from the Moony Times you posted.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

I believe the Washington Times

[JohnStOnge]

Nice work Tman, BDPSSYHR, Bunco, ALPACAJIZ1 and the rest of the enemies of mother nature.

Everything that happens is Mother Nature. We are part of Mother Nature.

[D1B]

Nice work Tman, BDPSSYHR, Bunco, ALPACAJIZ1 and the rest of the enemies of mother nature.

Everything that happens is Mother Nature. We are part of Mother Nature.

No we're not. Our intelligence has evolved where we now are lords over the planet. We know how Mother Nature works and can choose to save it or not. Thanks to total guck heads like you and Tman, we've chosen the latter.

[kalm]

Everything that happens is Mother Nature. We are part of Mother Nature.

No we're not. Our intelligence has evolved where we now are lords over the planet. We know how Mother Nature works and can choose to save it or not. Thanks to total guck heads like you and Tman, we've chosen the latter.

Free will!

[YoUDeeMan]

'"We can make the decision now, when we actually have the choice about how to rationally back out of that bad situation and make landowners whole," said Jon Rosenfield, a conservation biologist for the Bay Institute, an environmental group.

In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that despite hundreds of millions of federal dollars spent over two decades, no technological solution had been found to dispose of drain water. Enormous amounts of salt and selenium - toxic to birds, other wildlife and humans at high concentrations - continue to accumulate each year.

In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey warned that within 50 years, 20 million tons of contaminated salt will have to be disposed of. The agency said experimental technologies are "unprecedented and untested at the scale needed" and that the "potential release of selenium-contaminated drainage is massive." The agency concluded that the best solution would be to retire 300,000 acres in the western San Joaquin Valley.

Westlands retirements

In 2001, the Westlands Water District was in negotiations with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to retire 200,000 acres of land in exchange for a guaranteed water supply from the federally run Central Valley Project. Westlands issued a paper titled "Why Land Retirement Makes Sense for Westlands Water District," saying the west side of the valley is "severely affected" by drainage problems.

Thousands of Westlands acres have already been retired in various legal settlements with the federal government, which is obligated by Congress to provide drainage for farms in the district.

Right to farm

Holman called suggestions of land retirement "a little unsettling. ... Growers have an opportunity and a right to farm just as much as anyone else, regardless of area.

In some areas of the valley, salt has crystallized on the surface, covering fields with what is known as "California snow," rendering the ground useless not just for crops but also for any vegetation at all."



Wait, people have a RIGHT to farm regardless of how much it costs (taxpayers) to provide water and drainage systems? And we have to "make landowners whole?" Why?

There's something seriously wrong with this country.

[kalm]

'"We can make the decision now, when we actually have the choice about how to rationally back out of that bad situation and make landowners whole," said Jon Rosenfield, a conservation biologist for the Bay Institute, an environmental group.

In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that despite hundreds of millions of federal dollars spent over two decades, no technological solution had been found to dispose of drain water. Enormous amounts of salt and selenium - toxic to birds, other wildlife and humans at high concentrations - continue to accumulate each year.

In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey warned that within 50 years, 20 million tons of contaminated salt will have to be disposed of. The agency said experimental technologies are "unprecedented and untested at the scale needed" and that the "potential release of selenium-contaminated drainage is massive." The agency concluded that the best solution would be to retire 300,000 acres in the western San Joaquin Valley.

Westlands retirements

In 2001, the Westlands Water District was in negotiations with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to retire 200,000 acres of land in exchange for a guaranteed water supply from the federally run Central Valley Project. Westlands issued a paper titled "Why Land Retirement Makes Sense for Westlands Water District," saying the west side of the valley is "severely affected" by drainage problems.

Thousands of Westlands acres have already been retired in various legal settlements with the federal government, which is obligated by Congress to provide drainage for farms in the district.

Right to farm

Holman called suggestions of land retirement "a little unsettling. ... Growers have an opportunity and a right to farm just as much as anyone else, regardless of area.

In some areas of the valley, salt has crystallized on the surface, covering fields with what is known as "California snow," rendering the ground useless not just for crops but also for any vegetation at all."



Wait, people have a RIGHT to farm regardless of how much it costs (taxpayers) to provide water and drainage systems? And we have to "make landowners whole?" Why?

There's something seriously wrong with this country.

From welfare queens, to stoic farmers, to defense contractors, to teachers, to firefighters, to hedge fund managers...we have an entitlement culture. Greed is good!

[kalm]

And aren't these the same farmers who Reagan felt were entitled to illegal immigrant labor?

[ASUG8]

We have too many people. Time to adopt the Chinese one child model.

[JohnStOnge]

No we're not. Our intelligence has evolved where we now are lords over the planet. We know how Mother Nature works and can choose to save it or not. Thanks to total guck heads like you and Tman, we've chosen the latter

Yes we are. We and everything we do are part of the natural world and the natural universe. The "way Mother Nature works" includes us and all we do. And we are not capable of destroying or saving it. It will be. We impact it. Many species impact it. Many species have impacted it. Many species will impact it. And it will be what it will be.

You know (assuming what is believed is true), when an asteroid hit the Earth about 65 million years ago and the impact resulted in the extinction of most species living on Earth at the time, that was Mother Nature.

Mother Nature is not a nice lady. Nature is not soft and nice and kind. It is nasty and brutish.

[D1B]

No we're not. Our intelligence has evolved where we now are lords over the planet. We know how Mother Nature works and can choose to save it or not. Thanks to total guck heads like you and Tman, we've chosen the latter

Yes we are. We and everything we do are part of the natural world and the natural universe. The "way Mother Nature works" includes us and all we do. And we are not capable of destroying or saving it. It will be. We impact it. Many species impact it. Many species have impacted it. Many species will impact it. And it will be what it will be.

You know (assuming what is believed is true), when an asteroid hit the Earth about 65 million years ago and the impact resulted in the extinction of most species living on Earth at the time, that was Mother Nature.

Mother Nature is not a nice lady. Nature is not soft and nice and kind. It is nasty and brutish.

Bullshit.

[BlueHen86]

No we're not. Our intelligence has evolved where we now are lords over the planet. We know how Mother Nature works and can choose to save it or not. Thanks to total guck heads like you and Tman, we've chosen the latter

Yes we are. We and everything we do are part of the natural world and the natural universe. The "way Mother Nature works" includes us and all we do. And we are not capable of destroying or saving it. It will be. We impact it. Many species impact it. Many species have impacted it. Many species will impact it. And it will be what it will be.

You know (assuming what is believed is true), when an asteroid hit the Earth about 65 million years ago and the impact resulted in the extinction of most species living on Earth at the time, that was Mother Nature.

Mother Nature is not a nice lady. Nature is not soft and nice and kind. It is nasty and brutish.

I think we are capable of destroying it to the point where we can't live on it anymore, I think we should at least try and avoid that.

[BDKJMU]

We have too many people. Time to adopt the Chinese one child model.

Yep. 320 million is too many. But I have a better idea:
-Get control of the borders.
-Get a system of monitoring the entry & exit of those on work, student, & tourist visas.
-Reasonable limits (1/2 million to 1 million a year) on legal, permanent immigration.
-Deport the illegals.
-No additional welfare & bennies for having kids/more kids.

[kalm]

.

[kalm]

We have too many people. Time to adopt the Chinese one child model.

Yep. 320 million is too many. But I have a better idea:
-Get control of the borders.
-Get a system of monitoring the entry & exit of those on work, student, & tourist visas.
-Reasonable limits (1/2 million to 1 million a year) on legal, permanent immigration.
-Deport the illegals.
-No additional welfare & bennies for having kids/more kids.

How about deport the employers too?

[ASUG8]

Yep. 320 million is too many. But I have a better idea:
-Get control of the borders.
-Get a system of monitoring the entry & exit of those on work, student, & tourist visas.
-Reasonable limits (1/2 million to 1 million a year) on legal, permanent immigration.
-Deport the illegals.
-No additional welfare & bennies for having kids/more kids.

How about deport the employers too?

Why not? Eric Holder is about due to change his agenda to doing something within the law.

[travelinman67]

Great article by an Ag insider on the CA water problem. Long read, but absolutely accurate.

https://medium.com/p/f5b704d30353

[dbackjon]

Great article by an Ag insider on the CA water problem. Long read, but absolutely accurate.

https://medium.com/p/f5b704d30353

Written exactly like a greedy farmer that wants unlimited, subsidized water for himself to make his millions, but can't fathom contributing to anything else.

Even his billion dollar "solutions" would be funded by the US Taxpayers - at no cost to him.

[DSUrocks07]

We have too many people. Time to adopt the Chinese one child model.

Colonies on other planets, let humanity spread like the virus it is

[travelinman67]

Great article by an Ag insider on the CA water problem. Long read, but absolutely accurate.

https://medium.com/p/f5b704d30353

Written exactly like a greedy farmer that wants unlimited, subsidized water for himself to make his millions, but can't fathom contributing to anything else.

Even his billion dollar "solutions" would be funded by the US Taxpayers - at no cost to him.

You didn't read the article, Jackass. Those solutions benefit EVERYONE, including the environment.

Stop wasting my time, Klam.

[houndawg]

Yes we are. We and everything we do are part of the natural world and the natural universe. The "way Mother Nature works" includes us and all we do. And we are not capable of destroying or saving it. It will be. We impact it. Many species impact it. Many species have impacted it. Many species will impact it. And it will be what it will be.

You know (assuming what is believed is true), when an asteroid hit the Earth about 65 million years ago and the impact resulted in the extinction of most species living on Earth at the time, that was Mother Nature.

Mother Nature is not a nice lady. Nature is not soft and nice and kind. It is nasty and brutish.

I think we are capable of destroying it to the point where we can't live on it anymore, I think we should at least try and avoid that.

Wring the profits out of it until it stops being profitable then let somebody else deal with it.

Fvcking bleeding heart.

Repeat after me: "Privatize the profits and socialize the risks."