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. 2022;74(4):628-641.
doi: 10.1080/00330124.2022.2075409. Epub 2022 Jul 11.

Changes to California alfalfa production and perceptions during the 2011-2017 drought

Alida Cantor  1 , Bethani Turley  1 , Charles Cody Ross  1 , Mathern Glass  2
Affiliations

Changes to California alfalfa production and perceptions during the 2011-2017 drought

Alida Cantor et al. Prof Geogr. 2022.

Abstract

California experienced a severe multi-year drought stretching from 2011-2017, significantly reducing surface water supply for ecosystems, agriculture, and humans, and prompting coordinated conservation efforts. Given that agriculture is the largest consumptive use of water in the state, one anticipated response to a severe drought would be to decrease production of low-value, high-water-use crops such as alfalfa. In this paper we use a multi-methods approach to examine both spatial distribution and public perceptions of alfalfa production in California over the course of the 2011-2017 drought. We find that while California alfalfa production did decline at the state level, it persisted and even increased in specific areas of the state. We also find that alfalfa persisted even though discourses and understandings that were critical of alfalfa production emerged in public forums during this time. We situate these findings within a broader context of California's water management system, which meant that in practice, infrastructure and water rights allocation practices left many growers with little incentive to change growing practices even in the face of serious meteorological drought.

Keywords: California; agriculture; alfalfa; drought; water governance.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Area of California experiencing drought from 2011-2018 (top); regional drought map of Western United States during height of drought (bottom). (U.S. Drought Monitor 2022)
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
Map (left) shows alfalfa production lands in 2014; graphs (right) show changes to alfalfa production (tons of production and harvested acres) across California, 2011-2017
Figure 3:
Figure 3:
Map (left) shows Central Valley alfalfa production lands in 2014; graphs (right) show changes to alfalfa production (tons of production and harvested acres) in largest Central Valley alfalfa producing counties, 2011-2017
Figure 4:
Figure 4:
Map (left) shows Southern California’s alfalfa production lands in 2014; graphs (right) show changes to alfalfa production (tons of production and harvested acres) in Southern California’s Imperial Valley, 2011-2017
Figure 5:
Figure 5:
Frequency of news articles mentioning alfalfa + drought, 2011-2017
Figure 6:
Figure 6:
Main themes discussed in articles about alfalfa and drought, and frequency of articles discussing each main theme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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