U.S. Opens Spigot for California Farmers

wsj ^ | 3/16/10 | JIM CARLTON

[Nachum]

nterior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a sharp increase in federal water supplies for California's agricultural Central Valley, further easing drought concerns in a state where El Niño rains have raised the mountain snowpack after three severely dry years.

Mr. Salazar said water allocations from the Central Valley Project in California, a system of aqueducts and reservoirs managed by the federal Bureau of Reclamation primarily for farmers in the region, would be increased this year to between 25% and 50% of the maximum amount allowed under ideal circumstances, based on conservative forecasts by his agency. That's up from a previous estimate of just 5% for the system's junior users.

The increase is made possible, Mr. Salazar said, in part because winter rains have helped replenish the state's biggest reservoir, Lake Shasta, which now stands at 81% of capacity, compared with 55% a year ago. A former Colorado farmer, Mr. Salazar said he moved up the announcement by a week or so "because people on the ground and farming need to have certainty."

[Nachum]

About time.

[cubreporter]

Ditto.

[GloriaJane]

This should have been done a long time ago!

[rex regnum insanit]

For some farmers it will be too little and too late.

[Irenic]

What about the farmers who didn’t get water because of the little minnows?

[The KG9 Kid]

So which Central CA congressmen are there who were against Obamacare before this announcement?

[FormerACLUmember]

The democrat party tyrants just bought some ObamaCare votes.

[TigersEye]

How many of those orchards and vineyards are dead as door nails already? A lot of them looked beyond saving last summer.

[bronxville]

It’s an example of our future if we let them get their way. Total control of all!!!

Happy for the people but this control must change.

[afnamvet]

We need to get Federal control of water established at local irrigation districts.

[Kozy]

Let's talk facts and figures about the water starvation that the central California farmer went through last year. Oh did I mention that unemployment is 40% in the valley. Guess lettuce is no longer a green job.
In that little valley 50% of the vegetables, fruits and nuts for the United States are grown. So with unemployment at 40%, the water rationing meant that 400,000 acres were not planted last year. Since there are less crops, wonder how that affected your lettuce price in Albany?

We have big problems and little people running the country.

[tiki]

Maybe they can save their established trees but this won’t help that much.

[TigersEye]

A former Colorado farmer, Mr. Salazar said he moved up the announcement by a week or so "because people on the ground and farming need to have certainty."

Here is another fact. Salazar refused to answer any of their inquiries last spring, summer, fall and winter. Now he says they need some certainty? I am sure they are now certain that the FedGov is their enemy.

[Mr Inviso]

“So which Central CA congressmen are there who were against Obamacare before this announcement?”

Hasn’t really changed. Costa and Cardoza were both going to vote for Obamascare anyway, and Nunes against it.. Radanovich is leaving after this term, but he wouldnt vote with ZerO either.

Lets hope we can knock off either Costa or Cardoza or both in Nov. Ditto with Box-o-rocks.

[dila813]

Trees are dead, to late to save many farms.

[glorgau]

Great reference: Conditions for Major Reservoirs

[Right Wing Assault]

I think this was obama’s “stress test” for farmers. Those who couldn’t farm without water were too weak to survive.

[afnamvet]

Can’t think of any farmer that wouldn’t like putting Obozo through a stress test.

[csmusaret]

Dennis Cardoza