California farmer is ‘minimizing the hurt’

Sarah Gardner Jun 1, 2015
HTML EMBED:
COPY

California farmer is ‘minimizing the hurt’

Sarah Gardner Jun 1, 2015
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Farmers in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta hold some of the most secure water rights in the state. But as the drought deepens, even those privileged “riparian rights” holders might have to sacrifice their water.

That’s why many of them have agreed to slash their water use 25 percent in exchange for a promise they won’t face harsher mandatory cuts this growing season. Farmers say they’ll do that by fallowing fields, shifting to less thirsty crops and using less water to irrigate low-profit crops.

“It’s about minimizing the hurt,” farmer Rudy Mussi says.

Click the media player above to hear more.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.