User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Why Are Almond Growers Uprooting Their Orchards?

  1. #1

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 473,342, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 59.0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassYour first GroupVeteranRecommendation First ClassOverdrive
    Awards:
    Master Tagger
    DGUtley's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    200778
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    52,936
    Points
    473,342
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    17,067
    Thanked 46,048x in 24,878 Posts
    Mentioned
    887 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Post Why Are Almond Growers Uprooting Their Orchards?

    Why Are Almond Growers Uprooting Their Orchards?

    The double whammy of drought and water regulations has led some farmers to sacrifice thirsty crops—with visually striking consequences.


    ROW AFTER ROW OF PLANTS lay flat, their brown branches and bone-dry roots splayed out on ochre grass. Aerial images of the scene are a little disorienting: There are so many toppled shapes that it’s hard to make sense of the scale. At first glance, a viewer might assume they’re surveying uprooted weeds or unwanted shrubs—small, brambly ankle-scratchers baking in the afternoon sun and not particularly mourned.


    But the plants weren’t weeds: They were once almond trees, each roughly as tall as a two-story home, economically precious, and very much alive.


    8BBF42DB-892D-43A8-ACC2-1FB3489A0D3A.jpeg



    Until they were yanked out in May, these particular almond trees lived in Snelling, California, which sits in Merced County, east of San Jose. There, local growers are nuts for almonds; farmers grew more than 223 million pounds in 2019-2020. But the area is in the grip of a major dry spell: This May was the driest in 127 years, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 100 percent of the county is currently classified as experiencing “extreme drought.” Now, between the parched period and looming new regulations around groundwater usage, some farmers are opting to send their trees to the big orchard in the sky.



    D6C22AF6-2494-4DEF-A538-80FF661C0CB1.jpeg


    0F402CC7-DA95-49FF-A90E-067314D67C66.jpeg


    5850E5A7-3084-4F27-9BC2-3A23E7D00798.jpeg


    4A792FAA-CB93-40AF-A3A3-E747A9BDCCFD.gif


    https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...almond-orchard
    Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect. -- Woody Hayes​

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to DGUtley For This Useful Post:

    MisterVeritis (07-03-2021)

  3. #2
    Points: 174,797, Level: 99
    Level completed: 29%, Points required for next Level: 2,853
    Overall activity: 23.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialVeteranTagger First Class50000 Experience Points
    Dr. Who's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    870672
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Gallifrey
    Posts
    69,104
    Points
    174,797
    Level
    99
    Thanks Given
    12,830
    Thanked 12,935x in 8,813 Posts
    Mentioned
    206 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by DGUtley View Post
    Why Are Almond Growers Uprooting Their Orchards?

    The double whammy of drought and water regulations has led some farmers to sacrifice thirsty crops—with visually striking consequences.


    ROW AFTER ROW OF PLANTS lay flat, their brown branches and bone-dry roots splayed out on ochre grass. Aerial images of the scene are a little disorienting: There are so many toppled shapes that it’s hard to make sense of the scale. At first glance, a viewer might assume they’re surveying uprooted weeds or unwanted shrubs—small, brambly ankle-scratchers baking in the afternoon sun and not particularly mourned.


    But the plants weren’t weeds: They were once almond trees, each roughly as tall as a two-story home, economically precious, and very much alive.


    Attachment 40591



    Until they were yanked out in May, these particular almond trees lived in Snelling, California, which sits in Merced County, east of San Jose. There, local growers are nuts for almonds; farmers grew more than 223 million pounds in 2019-2020. But the area is in the grip of a major dry spell: This May was the driest in 127 years, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 100 percent of the county is currently classified as experiencing “extreme drought.” Now, between the parched period and looming new regulations around groundwater usage, some farmers are opting to send their trees to the big orchard in the sky.



    Attachment 40592


    Attachment 40593


    Attachment 40594


    Attachment 40595


    https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...almond-orchard
    People have to eventually come to terms with the reality of crop sustainability. N. Cal simply doesn't have enough water in its aquifers to support the high density farming of such high water consuming crops. Perhaps if they grew them in greenhouses where evaporated water could be recaptured, it would be different. There should also be more attention paid to developing technology to extract water from the atmosphere.
    In quoting my post, you affirm and agree that you have not been goaded, provoked, emotionally manipulated or otherwise coerced into responding.



    "The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”
    Mahatma Gandhi

+ Reply to Thread

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts