Carrot boycott: Cuyama farmers and the latest chapter of California's water wars

THE VAST CUYAMA Valley overlaps four counties: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Kern, and San Luis Obispo. Carrots are the largest agricultural product in the Valley, where Grimmway and Bolthouse Farms have been the dominant producers since the 1990s. From cattle ranchers at the western end of the region to olives and pistachio growers on the eastern side, small farmers get their water from wells. The entire area is dependent on rainfall, whether you're farming a few acres or, like Grimmway and Bolthouse, taking the lion's share for irrigation. 
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(SOURCE: KCRW)

Corporate growers' carrots are soaking up water. Locals are fighting back with a boycott.

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‘We’re not going to quit’: Why a California community is boycotting carrots

“MANY PEOPLE who live among the cattle ranches and farms in the Cuyama Valley have banded together in a campaign calling for a boycott of carrots.

The effort targets two large carrot growers, Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms, which sued asking a court to determine groundwater allocations for property owners throughout the valley. The two companies have recently dropped out of the lawsuit, but other corporate entities that lease land to the growers remain in the water adjudication case as plaintiffs.”
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(SOURCE: LATIMES)

America Should Harvest a Trillion Gallons of Rainwater

“IN AN AGE OF Western megadroughts and dangerous decimation of groundwater throughout the country, recent storms underscore the importance of investing in the capacity to manage, collect, and store water.” Read the article.

CA Law Bolsters Groundwater Recharge as Strategic Defense Against Climate Change

“STATE DESIGNATES AQUIFERS 'natural infrasturcture’ to boost funding for water supply, flood control, wildlife habitat.” Read the article.

(SOURCE: WATEREDUCATION.ORG)

America is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There's No Tomorrow

“GLOBAL WARMING HAS FOCUSED concern on land and sky as soaring temperatures intensify hurricanes, droughts and wildfires. But another climate crisis is unfolding, underfoot and out of view.” Read the article.

(SOURCE: NYTIMES)