California program pays farmers to fallow fields to preserve water amid drought (2024)

FAQs

California program pays farmers to fallow fields to preserve water amid drought? ›

To do this, the California Department of Water Resources is providing financial incentives of up to $2.5 million to farmers to fallow fields in areas called "critically overdrafted basins." Farmers are identified based on their proximity to drinking water wells that have gone dry or are in jeopardy of going dry.

This program is designed to incentivize landowners to not use transitional water now, so that water demand reductions, groundwater recharge, and overall sustainability benefits can be achieved within the SGMA-measured timeframes.

Are farmers paid not to farm? There is the Conservation Reserve Program which rents environmentally sensitive cropland for 10–15 years at a time. Landowners are paid to establish perennial covers that conserve soil and water. The program currently has about 22 million acres enrolled.

Current California Agricultural Water Prices Map

Currently, water district prices are still below $200 per acre-foot in most regions, although some areas have passed the $500 mark. Water district rates aren't the only prices to consider, since many regions of California also support water transfers on the open market.

More than nine million acres of farmland in California are irrigated, representing roughly 80% of all water used for businesses and homes.

California Drought Information & Assistance

Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) – provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including qualifying drought (includes native grass for grazing).

In the hot summer, farmers typically grow lower-value, water-intensive commodities such as grains and grasses. By fallowing a portion of their land during hotter months, Bard farmers earn financial incentives in exchange for entering into fallowing agreements for conserved water.

Farmers will be paid to temporarily or permanently fallow per acre. Eligibility is limited to those with a three-year average adjusted gross income of $2.5 million or less. To find out how to apply go to the Department of Water Resources website.

The farmers are paid to leave a portion of their lands dry and fallow, and the water saved over the next three years is expected to translate into 3 feet of additional water in Lake Mead, which has declined to its lowest levels since it was filled in the 1930s following the construction of Hoover Dam.

The average cost of delivering State Water Project water ranges between $250 per acre-foot in the San Joaquin Valley, to $600 per acre-foot in Southern California and as high as $1,440 per acre-foot on the Central Coast.

Who pays the most for water in California? ›

San Diego has some of the most expensive water in California – and in the country. A typical San Diego household pays about $80 a month for water. The national average is less than $40 a month, according to a recent survey by the American Water Works Association.

In an average year, about 30 percent of California's agricultural applied water is provided by groundwater extraction. In drought years, when surfacewater supplies are reduced, groundwater supports an even larger percent. Surface water supplies were developed early in the state's history.

Some of entertainment's biggest stars, including Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, and Kim and Kourtney Kardashian have been named among the worst wasters of water in their exclusive California neighbourhoods, according to a report.

Residential water use by urban, suburban and rural communities is highest in the San Francisco Bay Area and the southern coast, which includes San Diego County, but in general, per-capita water use has been falling. Statewide, the average monthly residential water usage has dropped since 2021.

The analysis ranked pasture first among California's top 10 most water-intensive crops …, followed by nuts and alfalfa…

There are several incentive categories under LandFlex depending on how much water is saved by fallowing land. Guidelines for the program state it will pay $450 for every acre foot of water kept in the ground through water year 2023.

Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycles and soil borne pathogens by temporarily removing their hosts.

The California Farmland Conservancy Program (CFCP) is a statewide grant program that supports local efforts to establish agricultural conservation easem*nts and land improvement projects for the purpose of preserving important agricultural land resources and enhancing sustainable agricultural uses.

Bush fallowing (or slash and burn agriculture) is the practice of clearing small plots of land to cultivate for a few years (generally two to five) and then leaving the land under natural vegetation for much longer periods, usually greater than five years to restore soil fertility (but in traditional systems over one ...