The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 10th that rice production this year is expected to decline by more than 30% compared to the previous year as drought continues in California and other western regions.
According to USDA data, it was estimated that 285,000 acres (1,153 square kilometers) of cropland in California were planted for rice this year.
This is a 30% decrease from last year and the lowest figure since the 1950s.
Daniel Summer, a professor of agronomy at the University of California, said: “This year’s rice production in California is the steepest decline of any other crop.”
California’s rice production accounts for one-fifth of all U.S. rice production.
However, due to a decrease in rice production, exports are expected to fall by 16% and imports are expected to reach an all-time high.
A decrease in the income of farmers became inevitable. California farmers grossed $1 billion in rice production last year.
A series of businesses, including tractors, selling seeds and shipping or exporting crops, have been hit, as well as farmers, the WSJ reported.
This year’s decline in rice production is due to the continued drought and reduced water supply for cultivation.
Although California has suffered a series of droughts for the past 20 years, it has still provided water for rice production until last year.
Because rice is the main crop, even if the amount of rain is small, it has priority over other crops in distributing the water stored by the state government.
But last winter’s record drought also reduced the water supply for rice. The drought continues this year.
Rice fields in Colusa County, north of Sacramento, have only received about 18% of the water they could get this year.
The WSJ said the farmers are not too dependent on other crops because they want to produce rice again at any time.
But experts say climate change is predicting that the drought will continue, or even get worse.