I'm not sure how almonds came to be the go-to example of waste in California agriculture, but they're a bad one.
- Almonds can't be grown in most places, California is uniquely well-suited to it.
- California almond-growing practices are (much) more wasteful than they need to be. Israeli almond farmers can grow an almond with 1/20th the water used in California; the main innovation is irrigating into a three-foot-deep pipe, instead of spraying water on the surface, where most of it evaporates. Switching California's practices to match would be a relatively simple matter of insisting upon it.
- Almond farming uses an insignificant, single-digit amount of California's agricultural water budget. 45% of California water is splurged on alfalfa growing for fodder. Which can be grown anywhere, is a bad match for the climate and water resources, and is the place where any rational attempt to bring California agriculture into alignment with reality should begin.
- Almonds can't be grown in most places, California is uniquely well-suited to it.
- California almond-growing practices are (much) more wasteful than they need to be. Israeli almond farmers can grow an almond with 1/20th the water used in California; the main innovation is irrigating into a three-foot-deep pipe, instead of spraying water on the surface, where most of it evaporates. Switching California's practices to match would be a relatively simple matter of insisting upon it.
- Almond farming uses an insignificant, single-digit amount of California's agricultural water budget. 45% of California water is splurged on alfalfa growing for fodder. Which can be grown anywhere, is a bad match for the climate and water resources, and is the place where any rational attempt to bring California agriculture into alignment with reality should begin.