4 ms·

A brief google search listed pasture, almonds, alfalfa, citrus and vineyards among some others. I'm fairly certain California has significant citrus, almonds, a

A brief google search listed pasture, almonds, alfalfa, citrus and vineyards among some others. I'm fairly certain California has significant citrus, almonds, and vineyards. I'm not sure about the pasture although I can imagine there has to be some.

bombcar 4y ago
In 2015 California had 5.2 million head of cattle, 9% of the US. 70% of the alfalfa crop goes to those cows. Another source [1] indicates 38 million acres (half owned by the federal government as BLM land I guess) is range and pasture land. It is likely possible that water use could be reduced without completely turning off agriculture entirely, but it would require rebalancing the US agriculture market as a whole, and potentially reconsidering growing ethanol corn where water is plenty and instead grow more "edible" crops. [1] https://calcattlemen.org/ranching-in-california/ https://calcattlemen.org/ranching-in-california/
- throwawayboise 4y ago
  Using corn for ethanol fuel is bone-headed. That's among the first things we should quit doing. It's a convoluted subsidy for corn farmers, nothing more. As an energy supply it's net-negative.
  - bumby 4y ago
    It was the intent of the subsidies to give some level of energy independence in the wake of the OPEC oil crisis, right? Is your stance that is no longer needed because of fracking, etc.? Unfortunately, subsidies have a habit of sticking around past their usefulness. My favorite is alpaca subsidies enacted to ensure cold-weather gear was available during the Korean War. It stuck around until the 1990s I believe.
  - rjmunro 4y ago
    This is certainly true, but what could the corn farmers do instead that would use less water? In Europe they pay farmers to look after land and specifically not grow crops on it. Maybe something like that is needed in California.
bonestamp2 4y ago
There is a surprising amount (at least to me). Driving between LA and San Francisco there are a significant amount of pastures that can be seen from the freeway (coastal and central valley). That's just what you can see from the freeway and it's far more than I would have expected.
eschulz 4y ago
What are the most water-intensive forms of agriculture per calorie produced? Which are the most water-intensive forms of agricultural commodities per dollar of value produced?

bombcar 4y ago

In 2015 California had 5.2 million head of cattle, 9% of the US. 70% of the alfalfa crop goes to those cows. Another source [1] indicates 38 million acres (half owned by the federal government as BLM land I guess) is range and pasture land. It is likely possible that water use could be reduced without completely turning off agriculture entirely, but it would require rebalancing the US agriculture market as a whole, and potentially reconsidering growing ethanol corn where water is plenty and instead grow more "edible" crops. [1] https://calcattlemen.org/ranching-in-california/ https://calcattlemen.org/ranching-in-california/

throwawayboise 4y ago
Using corn for ethanol fuel is bone-headed. That's among the first things we should quit doing. It's a convoluted subsidy for corn farmers, nothing more. As an energy supply it's net-negative.
- bumby 4y ago
  It was the intent of the subsidies to give some level of energy independence in the wake of the OPEC oil crisis, right? Is your stance that is no longer needed because of fracking, etc.? Unfortunately, subsidies have a habit of sticking around past their usefulness. My favorite is alpaca subsidies enacted to ensure cold-weather gear was available during the Korean War. It stuck around until the 1990s I believe.
- rjmunro 4y ago
  This is certainly true, but what could the corn farmers do instead that would use less water? In Europe they pay farmers to look after land and specifically not grow crops on it. Maybe something like that is needed in California.

bonestamp2 4y ago

There is a surprising amount (at least to me). Driving between LA and San Francisco there are a significant amount of pastures that can be seen from the freeway (coastal and central valley). That's just what you can see from the freeway and it's far more than I would have expected.

eschulz 4y ago

What are the most water-intensive forms of agriculture per calorie produced? Which are the most water-intensive forms of agricultural commodities per dollar of value produced?