Drought Brings Opportunity
California’s huge Central Valley is the site where a vast amount of this country’s fruits and vegetables are grown. This year, however, a major drought is turning this valley into a dustbowl and may provide opportunity to Idaho farmers. Garth Taylor, Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Idaho explains.
(Taylor) Drought always affects the least valued crops. In California, they’re not gonna shut off almond trees where a tree is gonna die, a tree that’s gonna produce for another 25 years. What they’re gonna shut off is their least valued crops and that’s usually your forage crops. That means their hay crops will be shut off in California as a result of the drought. Their high valued avocados, pomegranates and oranges they’ll continue to irrigate, especially their tree crops and in my opinion that will make the market stronger for Idaho hay. It may make a stronger market indirectly for Idaho milk because if they start shutting down dairies there, because the hay prices rise too high, it may increase the market for Idaho milk. Our hay prices would go up.
