California Drought Leads To Withering Of Tomatoes

Processing tomatoes, an ingredient in numerous grocery store mainstays, are suffering as a result of years of poor rainfall and snowfall in California. Additionally, the state historically generated roughly one-third of the world's supply of processed tomatoes. But, according to Reuters, the state is expected to fall short of (already low) harvest predictions for tomatoes and other crops. Hence, customers should anticipate higher costs on the shelves as fewer tomatoes, onions, and garlic are successfully grown, according to Don Cameron, head of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted in August that the production of processing tomatoes would be 10% below what they anticipated in May, a few months earlier, and 2% below the production of the previous year. In addition, one month later, the Processing Tomato Advisory Board predicted that growers would only be able to fulfill 82% of that already low target goal. Moreover, the Colorado River reached record low levels due to the ongoing, historic drought affecting California and most of the West for the past four years. Additionally, the entire state is currently experiencing drought, and a sizable portion of the Central Valley is experiencing "Exceptional Drought." Plus, August 2022 marked the driest three years in the Golden State's recorded history. More Details It is almost certain that climate change is making matters worse. According to a study published in June in the journal Nature, over the next three decades, climate change might cause tomato yields in California and elsewhere to fall by around 6%. On the other hand, according to recent research from World Weather Attribution, current levels of human-caused warming rendered the West's drought 20 times more likely than it would have been otherwise. And, heatwaves, thin snowpack, and lack of rainfall are additional factors contributing to drought and crop issues that are arising. In addition, officials put up limits in an effort to protect the remaining water. On another note, according to the National Hydropower Association, hydroelectric power generates more than one-fifth of all energy in the West, endangering drinking water supplies, agriculture, and electricity generation. Therefore, to avoid dams from losing their ability to generate power reservoirs like Lake Powell and Lake Mead needs to be at particular levels. Hence, the government is releasing less water to states until more water falls from the sky. Besides, when a brief series of rainstorms did eventually arrive in the Central Valley of California at the end of September, it wasn't all good news. According to an article from the publication Tomato News, the isolated rains, which weren't sufficient to replenish soil moisture, fell at the wrong moment and led to outbreaks of mold on the nearly ripe tomatoes, making the fruits unsellable.