4 ms·

Alfalfa is a very water intensive crop and is grown all over california. You can get 7 tons per acre per year at a value of $220 per ton [1]. It requires 435,00

• valleyer 9y ago
  Am I missing something? That still sounds profitable just based on the data I read in these comments: 7 ton / acre * $220 / ton - (435000 gallon / acre * $0.40 / 1000 liter) $881.34 / acre
  • anubisresources 9y ago
    Obviously your equation is a big simplification, but you’re missing a lot of the input costs.
  • ghshephard 9y ago
    Your math checks out - of the top of my head, 435,000 gallons is approx 1.6 million liters - 1600 m^3 * $0.4/m^3 = ~$640/acre of water, for $1440 of product, or ~ $800 profit (for just water costs) One variable we are missing is transport costs - that $0.40 is for generation, and transportation of water from the ocean to the central valley would probably be expensive.
  • Moto7451 9y ago
    Alfalfa is also a nitrogen fixer, so on top of being something farmers can sell it reduces furtilizer costs.