Strawberry case study: What if farmers had to pay for water?
Charging farmers the true cost of water could dramatically reshape agriculture, especially in arid regions like California where cheap, subsidized water underpins water‑intensive crops such as berries, rice, and alfalfa. Commenters examine a case where higher water prices pushed growers toward high‑value crops and away from low‑margin commodities, arguing this better internalizes environmental externalities but may favor large agribusiness and accelerate consolidation. The thread broadens into questions of labor exploitation, farm subsidies, and whether society should accept higher food prices or stronger regulation to ensure both sustainable water use and livable wages for agricultural workers.
Water pricing, externalities, and crop choices
- Many argue charging realistic prices for irrigation would internalize externalities (water depletion, pollution, climate impact) and push out water‑wasteful crops in deserts (e.g., alfalfa, soy, rice, cotton).
- Others worry that only high-margin crops (berries, lettuce) and well-capitalized growers would survive, as seen in Pajaro where water pricing pushed out low‑value commodity crops.
- Several commenters stress this is not inherently “big vs small” agribusiness, but “high‑value vs low‑value” crops under scarce water.
California’s role and geography of farming
- Debate over whether California is a “special case”: it’s a dominant agricultural exporter, but the linked data suggests its exports are only ~50% higher than Iowa’s, not 2x.
- Some suggest that if water were priced appropriately, production would shift back to rain‑fed regions in the Midwest instead of deserts, where water is effectively “free from the sky.”
Water management, storage, and other uses
- Discussion of better land practices (terracing, berms, beavers) to slow runoff and improve groundwater recharge; frustration that regulations sometimes block such measures.
- Thermoelectric power plants are noted as huge water users, but mostly in water‑rich eastern regions and often returning water to rivers (albeit warmer).
- Comparisons of water prices: Pajaro’s $500/acre‑foot vs much higher effective urban rates; for high‑value strawberries this is a small share of costs.
Extreme measures in agriculture
- Examples like helicopters and giant fans to dry cherries or prevent frost in orchards and vineyards are seen as emblematic of “it’s stupid but cheaper than losing the crop.”
- Some highlight how such responses can mask or delay needed adaptation to climate change.
Labor, wages, and systemic incentives
- Strong debate over farmworker exploitation, seasonal migrant labor, and “modern slavery” analogies, especially in berry picking.
- One side emphasizes razor‑thin farm margins and single bad years; the other insists this just shows the system is broken, not that low wages are acceptable.
- Proposed solutions include: stronger regulation, redirecting subsidies toward domestic consumption and livable wages, breaking up large agribusiness, and recognizing crime and social instability as externalities of low pay.
- There is tension between informal, low‑paid “learning” arrangements (e.g., permaculture internships) and minimum‑wage enforcement, with disagreement on whether regulation improves or worsens access to farming careers.