The water is used for domestic uses (drinking, laundry, bathing, flushing toilets and so on), industry (manufacturing, car washes, cleaning parts before painting) and agriculture (which often includes lawns and golf courses). Water is also set-aside by the EPA for wildlife purposes.
Water for agriculture is allocated via a complicated set of rules. If your share of the allocation looks like it will not be enough then you have to make some tough choices. Do you sell you herd now (good prices, cattle in good shape) or later (other producers dumping their herds, your cows looking scrawny)? How many do you send to market? Do you hold onto some of them and hope to get lucky next year? Regardless, it will take the region many years for the cattle herds to rebound to previous numbers.
The same thing happens with orchards. If you know you will not have enough water, which trees do you water and which do you let fend for themselves and likely die? Do you water just as many trees as possible just enough to keep them alive or do you water fewer trees enough to bring in a good crop?
Orchard trees are not like wheat. If you sacrifice 40 acres of walnut, plum or almond trees (for instance) then replanting might involve $800k and five years or more years before you see a return to production.
Hat-tip to Coyote Ken
Bonus images
"My advice to readers is to plant onions and carrots in your garden this year."
ReplyDeleteFor most Americans it will be an eye-opening experience how much work involved for a 5-pound bag of onions and carrots.
Scotts yards free of dandelions don't grow garden veggies. Might take a year plus to not have that dandelion (and garden veggie) killing product out of your yard.
And I strongly suggest you get a little extra OT or sell a toy you're not really using now while it has value and secure as much shelf stable food you can get.
Step one, make a list of foods you like to eat. Say Spaghetti. Then figure out a basic meal list and thus know how many pounds of pasta, jars of sauce and whatever protein you like in it.
And get busy. Do start gardening, it's a learning curve.
Onions from sets is as easy as falling off a log. Carrots from seeds are about 100x harder.
DeleteYour onion sets do well mine I've not done well over several years.
DeleteThus I planted walking onions and they even ignore deer. Small and hot onion flavor.
Michael the anonymous
Not just agriculture. There is high concern for the fire season.
ReplyDeleteLongtime Lurker here again. Just turned 69 years old yesterday and consider myself lucky to have not had to plant a garden my entire life…though now I wish I had that expertise…I’ve read the comments above and could easily be persuaded that it’s time for me to learn gardening but my organic yard(it’s only organic because I’ve spent my adult life working for another, not taking the time to learn what’s important in life) has a problem with moles and voles 😕 Is there anyone here who knows a simple, inexpensive way to kill moles and/or voles without introducing poison substances to my yard?
ReplyDeleteAny suggestions would be greatly appreciated…man, this AI assistant I have on my phone is really helpful. I just start typing and the AI assistant completes the words…guess it helps in a way to offset getting older🙂Thanks People!
Recently harvested about 80 bulbs of garlic and 40-50 onions. Not a years supply but it should keep me in alliums till fall/winter...
ReplyDeleteAnnie in ocala