KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Valley Farmers To Plant Less Crops This Year

Valley Farmers To Plant Less Crops This Year

By: Nicole Garcia and Kyra J. Neyland

Fresno, Ca.-In a few days valley tomato farmers will begin planting, but this year they may have to slash how much they plant because they won't have enough water.

"The water outlook for this year is very dismal, in fact we don't think we'll be able to deliver any type of surface water to our growers at all this year, so we told them they would need to be planning a zero allocation," said Sarah Woolf with the Westlands Water District.

California is going into its third year of drought.

Not enough snowpack in the mountains, and tight restrictions on pumping water out of the Delta add up to fallow fields.

"That is literally plant closure, and it will have a devastating effect on the valley's economy and the state's economy," said Representative Jim Costa, (D) Fresno.

Valley farmers agree.

"Economists will tell you for every dollar earned on the farm, there's $3 that go through the local economy," said Paul Betancourt of VF Farms.

Farmers like Betancourt will have to rely solely on well water and make appropriate changes.

"We've changed our crop pattern, we've had our well refurbished.

This last year we've grown pima cotton and wheat, in the past we've grown tomatoes, cantaloupe, sugar, barley," explains Betancourt.

Less crops being planted means less jobs. Last year the valley lost 50,000 farmworker jobs.

Tens of thousands of more jobs are expected to be cut this year because of the drought.

"Rainfall is helpful but we need snow in our Sierras, up near Shasta specifically is where our water comes from," said Woolf.

And even if we get more snow in the future the problem remains, how to get the water to the farmers.

"We have a water system that was designed for 20 million people, we now have 38 million people, we can't continue to be the agricultural breadbasket... unless we increase our supply of water," said Rep. Costa.

Valley farmers are hoping state and federal leaders will push forth a measure that would allow more dams and canals to be built, so more water can be stored and delivered throughout the state.