It’s been a wet winter in California, but all that heavy rainfall has led us to a sunny announcement. For the first time in 25 years, the entirety of California has been declared drought-free!
This graph shows how much water is currently in the state’s reservoirs. Nearly every reservoir is above its historical average capacity, which is good news for an agricultural industry that depends heavily upon irrigated water.
California has a Mediterranean climate, and most of the state’s precipitation falls between November and March. However, agriculture water use usually peaks during the summer, when crops are growing and rainfall is very rare. That means growing operations across the state should continue to pursue water-saving measures now, even as California’s reservoirs continue to fill up.
“Use these months to stock up on irrigation parts you may need for the warmer months,” advises Sam Baldvidia, Irrigation Sales Manager at FGS. Baldivia also warns growers against allowing Mother Nature to do all the irrigating work, even during rainy days. “You still have to grow your crop,” he points out. “Just continue to irrigate what you can, when you can. To cut your water usage down, consider switching to drip irrigation instead of sprinkler irrigation, so you’ll lose less to evaporation. Check your well depths, too, to see how healthy they are. That’ll help show what the pumping situation will be for the upcoming summer.”
As always, a Fruit Growers expert is just a phone call away, ready to help you plan for your most successful year yet.