To Sustain Agriculture in Drought-plagued California, Look to Michigan’s Developing Local Distribution Infrastructure

February 18, 2014 | Noah Fulmer

Noah Fulmer is the director of training and capacity building at Local Orbit, which provides tools for the entrepreneurs and organizations building the New Food Economy.

California just can’t catch a break when it comes to water.

As the New York Times noted recently, thousands of Cailfornia Central Valley acres now feature dusty fields where tomatoes and melons once grew. Without any water, fields are simply being left fallow.

Large scale, centralized production wasn’t always at a disadvantage in California. The dryness of inland areas like Fresno, Bakersfield and Temecula made them ideal for finely managing crop production with few pests. The sunny, relatively stable year-round climate couldn’t be beat. When crops needed water, tightly controlled irrigation was designed to draw upon snowmelt off the Sierra Nevada up north and from the Colorado River further south. Read More