U.S. Farms Waste A Lot Of Water — But This Tech Could Help

The western U.S. is experience a megadrought so severe, it is the driest two decades in at least 1,200 years. And no sector has felt the impact more than agriculture, which takes up about 70% of the world’s freshwater. With water resources becoming more scarce, several companies are working to improve irrigation efficiency and help sustain food production in a future where extreme climate may be more common.

Chapters:
Ch. 1: 2:08 The West’s drought
Ch. 2 4:48 Water in agriculture
Ch. 3 8:02 Smarter irrigation
Ch. 4 11:08 Indoor farming
Ch. 5 13:11 Future technologies

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U.S. Farms Waste A Lot Of Water — But This Tech Could Help

[josearmandoramos]

There are many aspects to this, but one thing that was not mentioned is Soil and how it relates to this issue. Healthy, fertile, high organic-content soils are able to hold and keep much more water in place. On the other hand, infertile, "desertic" soils can't do this and water runs off, even when you irrigate. So by improving soil quality we could drastically reduce irrigation requirements overall. Not to mention higher nutritional value in food and higher yield as well. There is a movement called Save Soil showing how this can be done worldwide to solve these kinds of issues.

[chrisaycock]

The other thing that isn't said here is that the way water rights work in the southwest is that states and farms get a certain allotment if you don't use it you lose it.. so growing thirsty crops is something a lot of farmers will do to keep their water rights.

[brentheid]

I am a Farmer from Missouri. California should not raise crops that can be raised elsewhere. No corn, cotton, alfalfa etc. And move the dairies back to the Midwest (Wisconsin) so all the silage will not need to be raised in the desert SW. Just a thought. Save the Cali Central Valley for high value crops.

[kitemanmusic]

Droughts everywhere. Floods everywhere. "Ne'er the twain shall meet!" Why so much crop farming in unsuitable land?

[mikestaihr]

If the true unsubsidized cost of water had been incremented into the system decades ago the solving of this dilemma would have already been happening. Cheap water was always an incentive for waste.

[JJs_playground]

The federal government should be paying for all drip irrigation systems for every farm that's impacted in these region. farmers are already stretched financially and run on thin margins, they need help. We need to ensure our food supplies are solid.

[khofstee]

As a California farmer and advocate, farms here in the Central Valley have significantly reduced water usage. Many have been using micro jet sprinklers for years already. Farms have also been forced to fallow a third of their ground here. They have also cut crop production by about 40% to be in compliance with sgma

[javier]

Water cuts for farmers should prioritize cutting the water of farms which mainly export out of the United States so it could give a fair chance to local farmers to produce and sell locally

[Fabdanc]

There are certainly a lot of things we could be doing, but we have to wrestle with the economics of the situation. Many farmers are forced to absorb the costs of upgrades due to pricing pressure, which benefits the wasters not the savers. The need to secure our food supply should be seen as a national issue, and farmers should be able to easily access funds that allow them to invest in upgrading irrigation, ongoing subsidies for maintenance, ongoing education, and regulatory oversight to ensure that the farms do indeed utilize the upgraded irrigation techniques. There are, of course, many other issues that must be addressed such as water rights, usage claims, and "get big or get out" commercialization.

Complex problems have complex solutions. It is going to take multiple layered solutions to properly address this situation. The more we recognize that hydrology is impacted by things like tree cover, native plants vs. non-natives, earthworks, etc., the better. I strongly believe that California's drought situation would be different if its forests were not devastated by logging. All that tree cover cooling the ground, slowing water, transpiring, and stopping the encroachment of forbs into the forest floor that fuel abnormal fire cycles, it would be a different story.

[DavidM]

Until water comes with a monetary cost, the waste will continue. Yes, the price of food will go up but that may be the cheapest way to pay for the water that is used and wasted. The more efficient farmers are with water the more profitable they will be relative to their competitors. Certainly not a popular move for sure. We all want everything for free or cheap.

[cameronf]

Reminder even from this non-vegan but from a farming family that over 80% of the crops grown in the US are exclusively for animal feed. Restructuring our culture to have a Mediterranean diet and/or vegetarian diet with more well rounded consumptions (although we can do without almond milk) are necessary for moving forward if we’re to survive.

[jamram]

Many of these farms can reuse treated grey water from municipal sewage plants. Israel claims to use about 85-90% of their grey water for agriculture.

[Blaze]

Maybe don't grow things that aren't sustainable in a desert climate ?

[bkayganich]

You want agriculture to become more water frugal? Eliminate farming subsidies...

[TheMrDwiebe]

In the midst of all these comments on the topic at hand, I am here simply to point out that the script writer confused “exasperate” with “exacerbate” at 2:24. That aside, a very interesting video!

[mikewood]

Israel and the Netherlands are leaps ahead of the US in water recycling and conservation. It’s not new. US is used to doing things “the way we always do it”.

[kenhunt]

65% of the water in my State goes to one crop, alfalfa. This contributes about 1% of the State's GDP.
The Ag program at Utah State brags about their capture and reuse of flood irrigation overrun but it's still flood irrigation. They want to ignore USDA and UC Davis work in California.
Israel uses underground drip irrigation for feed crops like alfalfa.
When will the power structure in my State ever use best practices?

[Sparkk]

Water isn't exactly wasted. Water goes through cycles. It returns to the atmosphere, ground, and lakes/rivers...

[neverstoppulling]

Awwww poor farmers didn't do any regenerative agriculture the last 50 so now their soil sucks without all the crutches :((

[shepherdsknoll]

In California, agriculture accounts for 80% of our water usage - the kicker? Agriculture accounts for only 3% of California’s GDP.
Alfalfa is the number one water consuming crop yet in a restaurant the other day, I was offered beef raised in Idaho !