Additionally, industries that rely on farm products in the state lost about $845 million, which was about $255 million more than last year, according to the Nov. 22 report.
In all, industries recorded nearly $2 billion in losses and a loss of 19,420 jobs this year as a result of a three-year drought, the report showed.
The last three years have been the driest period since 1895 in the state, researchers reported. During that time, statewide temperatures were about 3 degrees above 20th-century averages, reducing snowpack and increasing water evaporation. The state also received only about 68 percent of average precipitation compared to last century.
In response to the unusually dry conditions last year, the state proclaimed drought emergencies and curtailed water use in the Russian River, Scott River, and Shasta River basins bordering Oregon. The restrictions were later extended to the Sacramento Valley. By doing this, water for local agriculture was compromised by the low-water reserves.
The dry conditions persisted this year, and the state again restricted water rights. Officials also restricted water deliveries from the State Water Project—the nation’s largest state-owned water and power generator delivering clean water to 27 million people, about the population of Texas, and 750,000 acres of farmland throughout California, according to the state Department of Water Resources.
Statewide irrigated crops dropped by 752,000 acres this year and 563,000 acres in 2021. The statewide economic impact from crop losses was $1.7 billion this year and $1.3 billion last year, the UC Merced report found.
In addition to water challenges, the state’s agricultural industry also suffered from disruptions in the supply chain, including delays in shipping crops, according to the report.
The industry did not see a substantial loss in beef and dairy revenue because of high prices, but increased production costs caused losses in net revenue. Beef and milk production was lower than usual because of higher feed costs, lack of irrigated water, and higher water costs, according to the report.
The most significant change in production during the drought was seen in the Sacramento Valley, where farmers planted fewer rice crops, according to the report. The number of acres producing rice in that region dropped by 270,000, from about 550,000 acres historically.
The Sacramento region was home to more than half of the 750,000 acres set aside by farmers during the drought.
“The Sacramento Valley showed greater vulnerability this time because of the unprecedented climatological conditions, but also because there’s less groundwater pumping capacity,” Alvar Escriva-Bou, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, said in a release. “Given that it’s a normally wetter region, it might be wise to assess investments in recharge and pumping infrastructure to increase drought resilience.”
Almond growing was also reduced as the industry removed about 40,000 acres of aging almond trees in 2021 and about 55,000 acres in 2022.
The report also found northern regions of the state reduced alfalfa, grain, and pasture crops this year.
However, the largest economic effects of the drought were felt in the state’s Central Valley with its higher proportion of land in irrigated agriculture and the higher variability in water supplies, the report found. Statewide total gross revenue losses were estimated at $3.9 billion in 2021.
The three-year drought highlighted California agriculture’s resilience to climate extremes and exposed other issues, researchers said.
“This drought has exposed some other vulnerabilities that need attention such as land idling hotspots, vulnerable communities, and the need to replenish water to aquifers in future years to offset excess pumping during droughts,” the report read.
