Crops such as winter wheat grown using only precipitation to supply crop water requirements were once commonplace in the valley. Strictly dryland crops have limited scope in today’s San Joaquin Valley.Although water-limited agriculture faces large hurdles, some promising aspects warrant further exploration. Rather than widespread land idling-which comes with unintended consequences such as dust, weeds, pests, and soil degradation-a switch from summer irrigated crops to winter crops produced with limited water (including winter cereals and forage crops, among others) might keep some of this land in production. As groundwater sustainability measures are implemented and water scarcity increases, at least half a million acres are projected to come out of irrigated production in the San Joaquin Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland. The rollout of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is altering the state’s agricultural landscape.
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