In California's San Joaquin Valley, a mounting water crisis is forcing farmers to face harsh new realities as the state implements groundwater pumping restrictions. The impact is devastating - farm values are plummeting and many agricultural operations teeter on the brink of failure.
Nick Sahota, a Terra Bella farmer who grows pistachios and table grapes, has watched his water costs skyrocket to $1,500 per acre under California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). His once-profitable orchards have lost 75% of their value in just four years, threatening his family's ability to repay over $15 million in loans.
"How are we going to pay the loans? It's impossible," says Sahota, who farms with his 83-year-old father in eastern Tulare County.
The crisis stems from decades of overpumping groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley, the heart of California's $59 billion agricultural industry. Studies show the region consumes twice as much groundwater as nature replenishes through rain and snow. This has caused the land to sink, damaging infrastructure including roads and the California Aqueduct.
Under SGMA, local water agencies must now limit groundwater pumping. The results are dramatic - orchards relying solely on groundwater saw values drop 30-40% last year between Sacramento and Chowchilla. Land that once commanded $20,000 per acre may now be worth as little as $7,000.
"That's a huge loss in equity for growers, who have been farming at a loss for the last three to four years," explains Janie Gatzman, a veteran agricultural appraiser.
The Public Policy Institute of California estimates that about 500,000 acres - one-fifth of the San Joaquin Valley's farmland - may need to be taken out of cultivation by 2040 to stabilize aquifers. Small and medium-scale farmers appear most vulnerable.
For farmers like Amrik Singh Basra in Madera County, groundwater fees have quadrupled from $246 to $983 per acre-foot. Despite fallowing one-third of his almond and grape acreage, he still faces full property taxes. "We have to go bankrupt or we have to shut down," says Basra. "And nobody is buying the land."
While experts suggest new land uses may emerge over time, including solar farms and cattle grazing, the transition threatens to permanently reshape the agricultural landscape of California's Central Valley. For many current farmers, the change may come too late to save their operations.
"Farming is a really tough, hard business, and it's risky," notes UC Davis agricultural economist Daniel Sumner. "These are not the first farmers to have been caught by something unexpected."