California has entered another drought. But depending on who you ask, the last one may have never really ended.
However, some growers say they are now facing a convergence of forces that is all but insurmountable — a seemingly endless loop of hot, dry weather, new environmental protections and cutbacks in water allotments.
John Guthrie pumps water from a 3,000-gallon cistern into a water trailer to haul back to his ranch’s headquarters in Porterville, Calif. Guthrie will use the water for dust control at the corals.
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
“I’m proud of our family’s history in this part of the state,” said John Guthrie, president of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. “If not for that, I would seriously consider bowing out of this business.”