<p>The California State Board of Food and Agriculture and representatives from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and State Water Resources Control Board will discuss water transfers and drought preparedness this month. The meeting to be held January 7th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the California Department of Food and Agriculture will address the challenges agriculture could potentially face in 2014, according to a press release.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “California’s farmers and ranchers need to prepare for a potentially significant drought year,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “We are looking at scenarios in which considerable land fallowing and unsustainable groundwater overdraft will occur – leading to direct impacts within our rural farming communities. CDFA is partnering with federal and state government agencies to provide further information on drought preparedness for the agricultural sector.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Initial allocation levels were released for the State Water Project in November, providing a 5% allocation for water contractors. This initial allocation is among the lowest on record, duplicating the initial allocation level following California’s most recent drought (2007-2009).<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Nine of California‘s 12 major reservoirs are below 50 percent capacity. These resources include Lake Shasta (37 percent), Lake Orville (37 percent), San Luis (29 percent), and Folsom Lake (20 percent). DWR reports that about half of California’s statewide precipitation occurs December through February, with three-quarters occurring November through March. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Speakers at the meeting will include Bill Croyle, California Department of Water Resources; Tom Howard, State Water Resources Control Board; Paul Fujitani, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region; David Guy, Northern California Water Association; Jason Peltier, Westlands Water District; Luana Kiger, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Navdeep Dhillon, USDA Farm Service Agency; Randy Fiorini, Delta Stewardship Council and Thad Bettner, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“We are sounding the alarm on behalf of the agricultural industry,” said Craig McNamara, president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. “With the strong potential that California is entering its third dry year, we need to start planning now to minimize long-term impacts. I remain hopefully that the next few months will bring much-needed precipitation, but planning for the future must begin today.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The California State Board of Food and Agriculture advises the governor and the CDFA secretary on agricultural issues and consumer needs.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">This meeting will be streamed online at the below link: <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/LiveMediaStream.html" target="_new"> Water Resources Board Meeting </a><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow the drought situation in California.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.cdfa.ca.gov" target="_new"> CDFA </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
