>> But there's nothing to be done about it. You can't raise crops in a disaster area, especially with the waterlines all cut. If people expended maximum effort, they might save some of the perennials like grapevines and almond trees, but everything else is a total loss.
Given how much water and care almond trees require I'd write them off. They really shouldn't be grown in that part of California.
A lot of things shouldn't be grown where they are. But if we write off the ones currently there, then we lose that crop for years to come. Almonds aren't like lettuce you can restart in a few weeks. They take about 5 years to start producing, and longer to a full crop. California produces 80% of the world's almonds and 100% of the United States’ commercial supply. Lose those trees, and effectively lose commercial almond production globally for at least 5 years. That is not a good thing at all. And it's not the only crop where that's true.
California alone produces 25% of America's food and 40% of its fruits, vegetables, and nuts. If we lose the West Coast food production, the rest of America goes hungry about 3 days later and many other countries take a bad hit also. We can in theory raise many foods elsewhere -- most of the same vegetables will grow in the South or Midwest -- but farmers there aren't equipped for that. T-America managed a big shift quickly, but they were both lucky in timing and much better prepared. We couldn't do that here even with the same timing.
If this distresses you, the best thing individuals can do to fight it is eat local. The more we do that, the higher the demand for farmers to diversify, so that more produce is grown locally instead of shipped from California. That will slightly reduce the damage and greatly improve the recovery, because it's much easier to expand an established farm than to start from scratch.
That's true too. However, if we moved out the rest of the crops, there might be enough left for the few that would be difficult or impossible to move elsewhere. You can grow tomatoes anywhere; not so with almonds, olives, or even grapes.
It's likely that in a disaster, it won't be possible to salvage anything. But if it is, eat the annuals and try to save the longest-lived perennials.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2020-02-09 06:22 am
Re: Thoughts
Given how much water and care almond trees require I'd write them off. They really shouldn't be grown in that part of California.
Re: Thoughts
California alone produces 25% of America's food and 40% of its fruits, vegetables, and nuts. If we lose the West Coast food production, the rest of America goes hungry about 3 days later and many other countries take a bad hit also. We can in theory raise many foods elsewhere -- most of the same vegetables will grow in the South or Midwest -- but farmers there aren't equipped for that. T-America managed a big shift quickly, but they were both lucky in timing and much better prepared. We couldn't do that here even with the same timing.
If this distresses you, the best thing individuals can do to fight it is eat local. The more we do that, the higher the demand for farmers to diversify, so that more produce is grown locally instead of shipped from California. That will slightly reduce the damage and greatly improve the recovery, because it's much easier to expand an established farm than to start from scratch.
Re: Thoughts
Re: Thoughts
It's likely that in a disaster, it won't be possible to salvage anything. But if it is, eat the annuals and try to save the longest-lived perennials.