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Drought Felt By California Farmers, ​​Who Fear Worst is Yet to Come

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dried and cracked soil in an irrigation ditch next to a cornfield
The dried and cracked soil in an irrigation ditch next to a cornfield on a farm in Fresno, California, July 24, 2021. ((Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images))

Nearly half of California is mired in exceptional drought, including vast swaths of the Central Valley, which produces roughly 40% of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts. Water shortages in the region are having profound effects on growers, who are uprooting crops, letting fields lie fallow and turning their lands into solar farms and other uses. We’ll hear from farmers about how the drought is affecting their operations and the steps they’re taking to mitigate the worst impacts.

Guests:

Ellen Hanak, vice president and director of the PPIC Water Policy Center and a senior fellow, Public Policy Institute of California

Joe Del Bosque, CEO, Del Bosque Farms in the San Joaquin Valley

Stuart Woolf, president and CEO, Woolf Farming & Processing in Fresno

Don Cameron, vice president and general manager, Terranova Ranch; president, California State Board of Food and Agriculture

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