Christine Gemperle is about to do what almond farmers fear the most: rip out her trees early.<\/p>\n
Water is so scarce on her orchard in California\u2019s Central Valley that she\u2019s been forced to let a third of her acreage go dry. In the irrigated areas, the lush, supple trees are dewy in the early morning, providing some relief from the extreme heat. Walking over to the dry side, you can actually feel the temperature start to go up as you\u2019re surrounded by the brittle, lifeless branches that look like they could crumble into dust.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarming\u2019s very risky,\u201d said Gemperle, who will undertake the arduous process of pulling out all her trees on the orchard this fall, replacing them with younger ones that don\u2019t need as much moisture. It\u2019s a tough decision. Almond trees are typically a 25-year investment, and if it weren\u2019t for the drought, these trees could\u2019ve made it through at least another growing season, if not two. Now, they\u2019ll be ground up into mulch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think a lot of people understand just how risky this business is, and it\u2019s a risk that\u2019s associated with something you can\u2019t control at all: The weather,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a> (subscription).<\/p>\n The famed farming valleys of California are being swept into what feels like permanent dryness, raising the specter of food inflation https:\/\/t.co\/49PLZnoMU9<\/a><\/p>\n — Bloomberg (@business) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n