Not Enough Rain for California Agriculture

Mar 07, 2014

Despite torrential downpours across most of California last week, the state’s agriculture sector is still suffering the effects of a lingering drought.

With more than 94% of the state still struggling with severe drought, farmers and ranchers continue to deal with the realities of failing crops and reduced viable pasture lands. With exceptionally high costs for irrigation water, farmers and ranchers are having a hard time keeping within profitable margins – in some cases, the drought has forced them completely out of business.

While the recent rains did help by providing some moisture, the dry land causes much of the water to runoff quickly, offering little chance for adequate absorption. With reservoirs and snowpack levels also being so low, the rains didn’t have enough impact to revive them to suitable levels.

(dying avocado tree in California as the result of drought)

Consumers can expect the prices of some of their favorite California-grown fruits and vegetables like avocados to increase, as supply weakens and production costs get steeper.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.