40 years ago California farmed only 5% of all land under cultivation in the USA but grossed 35% of all farm sales in the CONUS!
Absolutely. Of course, that position was built on the cheap migratory labor that California had access to, but other states didn't.
Then the Texas Valley smarted up and took away that competitive position.
Then South Florida figured out you could hire Mexicans and cut labor costs by almost 2/3rds, and not have to deal with the black BS.
Now the farm-to-table movement is moving produce production further north and east again.
Used to be, it was cheaper to truck the produce from Texas to New York than it was to carry it across the street in New York. Now, the unions are losing their grip, trucking is getting more expensive, and local distribution options are expanding, sucking more production away from California.
You could build more dams, but they would only be useful every 10 years or so, which makes them uneconomical. Of course, if the Federal Government builds them, sure the farmers want them. But, right now, if there wasn't the demand for almonds there is, there would be plenty of water in Kali, even in drought years.
Anyway, there's anything but a shortage of food, and more dams aren't going to make a measurable economic difference.
Kali agriculture is in a long term decline and the root cause is the rest of the country started using the same cheap farm labor Kali did. Dairy, produce, orchards, all of them are facing increased competition from out of state companies.
