California and Water · Episode 4 of 8 · 45 min
Alfalfa, Almonds, and Why Saudi Cows Drink California Water
Agriculture uses about 80% of California's developed water, and the two biggest drinkers are alfalfa and almonds. A Saudi dairy company grows hay in the California desert and ships it home, and the truth is stranger and more mundane than the legend. The episode follows the water into forage for dairy cows, tree nuts that cannot be fallowed in a drought, and the Salinas 'upside-down river' that waters the Salad Bowl.
Who's who
- Katie HobbsArizona governor who moved against Fondomonte's state-land leases in 2023
- John Steinbeck+4 more episodesSalinas native whose East of Eden described the 'part-time river'
Where it happens
- Palo Verde Valley, near Blythe, CaliforniaWhere Fondomonte grows alfalfa
- Vicksburg, ArizonaSite of Fondomonte's nearly 10,000-acre purchase
- Salinas River, California+2 more episodesMostly underground river watering the Salad Bowl
Timeline
- 1952Steinbeck publishes East of Eden, immortalizing the Salinas River.
- 2014Fondomonte buys nearly 10,000 acres near Vicksburg, Arizona.
- 2018-2019Saudi Arabia's ban on domestic green-fodder takes effect.
- October 2023Arizona moves to end Fondomonte's state-land leases.
- 2023-2024Almonds remain California's top agricultural export, at about $4.4 billion.
Still debated
Critics call exporting thirsty crops a shipment of 'virtual water,' while farmers and many economists call it ordinary high-value trade. No neutral 'waste' number exists for farm water, and whether the Fondomonte crackdown was substance or symbol is argued.
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