Small Farms and Groundwater Policy in CA

Yeah, I think what might be hard for some listeners to understand is just how difficult it is All of this is as it hits the farm on the ground.

I was in Madera for a couple of days and Fresno just recently and talked to several farmers.

And it really is an eye opener when you understand that, you know, farming as they know it, farming as these farmers know it.

is undergoing huge changes simply as a result of this one regulation.

And in many cases, some of the farmers feel like the solution for their groundwater isn't coming fast enough.

They see the problems continuing.

So it's a really tough situation.

So there's this big transition that's happening across California's agricultural regions where We're trying to solve a problem that's been decades in the making, and we're impatient.

We want it to be solved as quick as possible.

So for people who aren't in those rural and agricultural areas, it may be difficult to really see that this is a big transition that's taking place.

And You know, if, for example, a million acres were fallowed and it was not done strategically, you would see increases in valley fever.

You would see increases in dust.

You would see huge impacts on people's health.

And so it has to be done with thoughtfulness and with an approach that brings in not just the local agencies, but also that you get some of the state and federal agencies aligned to think through how to be strategic about solving these problems.

And so that's sort of the big picture.

But down on the ground, if you're a farmer that is farming 20 or 30 acres, and that's your livelihood and you're the sole proprietor, you don't have a staff going to these meetings and understanding the regulations, you are disproportionately going to be impacted.

So, you know, in our report, in addition to these really specific recommendations that could be implemented on the local level, we also wanted to address the fact that on a statewide level, There's a role for these agencies to get themselves aligned, get all of these programs and dollars that they need to put together and be strategic in thinking about how to address the fact that there's a huge, huge change that's going to be big economic impact in California.