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No, it’s not. The surplus created by cheap water is captured by the hedge funds buying up artificially cheap water rights then selling foods at market rates for

No, it’s not. The surplus created by cheap water is captured by the hedge funds buying up artificially cheap water rights then selling foods at market rates for a large profit. Growing alfalfa in California for cows in China or Saudi Arabia does not impact the price of California beef in a measurable way.

kolanos 3y ago
Yes, it is. Have you quantified this claim? Do you know how little alfalfa is exported? > Based on USDA data for 2022, only 4% of all U.S. dry hay produced and 6.5% of all harvested alfalfa hay entered the export market. So 96% of all hay and 93.5% of alfalfa is used domestically. [0]: https://hayandforage.com/article-4300-hay-exports-in-2022-offered-mixed-news.html https://hayandforage.com/article-4300-hay-exports-in-2022-of...
- cjbgkagh 3y ago
  Price is set at the margins
- pdonis 3y ago
  Evidently this must vary a lot by state, since the article under discussion says that 70% of California grown alfalfa is exported to Japan and China.
- coryrc 3y ago
  Most hay isn't grown in California, it's in the Midwest.