California’s Idle Crop Land May Double as Water Crisis Deepens

Jul 22, 2022

By Pam Knox

As you probably know, the multi-year drought in the Southwestern U. S. has had profound negative consequences for farmers there. The folks who control water supplies are making cuts to irrigation water that are decreasing or stopping water deliveries to some farmers, leaving them with no irrigation for their crops. The scarce water has to be divided between urban water users, farmers, industrial users, and ecosystem protection, and there is not enough for any of them. How would you handle it if your irrigation water was cut in half or stopped? It is a tough question that does not seem very germane in the last few years of relatively abundant water in the Southeast compared to the longer drought years that occurred in 1998-2002, 2007-2009, and 2011-2013. Bloomberg posted this story about the dire choices farmers are having to make with no access to water to farm.

californias

Source : uga.edu

Video: Next Mile Ep 1: Navigating Disease Prevention

The Next Mile, host Dr. Meredith Petersen, Director of Swine Health at the National Pork Board, sits down with Dr. Cara Haden, Director of Animal Welfare and Biosecurity at Pipestone, to unpack the National Swine Health Strategy and what it means for producers across the country.

Meredith walks through how the strategy came together: a producer-led effort launched in March 2025 in response to input gathered at the National Pork Industry Forum, built around two core goals, keeping foreign and emerging diseases out of the U.S. herd and reducing the impact of domestic diseases already here, including long-term elimination targets for PRRSV and PEDV.

Cara then brings the conversation down to the farm level, sharing how Pipestone scores biosecurity across seven key areas: air, feed, water, people, supplies, trucks and pigs, plus everything within the farm perimeter. She and Meredith dig into why farm leadership and daily culture, not just protocols on paper, ultimately determine whether biosecurity efforts stick.

Whether you're a producer, veterinarian, or anyone invested in herd health, this episode offers a grounded look at where the industry is headed and what everyday habits make the biggest difference.