Dry spell and water lacks in 2022 have meant rice growers have only planted half as much of the grain as normal in the Sacramento Valley, generally the largest rice-growing region in California.
The continuous dry spell has cut rice acreage in the Sacramento Valley in half.
Generally the biggest rice-growing area in California, the Sacramento Valley produces hundreds of countless dollars worth of rice each year. 2022 has been anything but typical. Because of serious dry spell and water shortages, rice growers have actually only planted half as much of the grain as normal.
Its a significant scale of the modification that is plainly visible from space. The ideal side of the image pair below shows a significant rice-producing location east of Willows on September 16, 2022; the left side reveals the same location on September 4, 2021. Tens of countless acres of farmland that would usually be green as farmers prepare for harvest were instead brown and idle in 2022 Both natural-color satellite images were gotten by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
Normally the biggest rice-growing region in California, the Sacramento Valley produces hundreds of millions of dollars worth of rice each year. Because of severe drought and water lacks, rice growers have only planted half as much of the grain as typical.
According to the University of California, Davis agricultural economic expert Aaron Smith, the modifications were most pronounced in Colusa and Glenn counties (the western part of the valley), where rice acreage dropped by a massive 84 and 75 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. The majority of California rice is medium-grain or short rice for usage in dishes such as paella, sushi, and risotto. Other US states, specifically Arkansas, produce many of the long-grain rice, such as basmati or jasmine rice.
August 2021– August 2022
The map above depicts abnormalities in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for 2022, which is a measure of how plants soak up visible light and show infrared light. Drought-stressed plants reflects more visible light and less infrared than healthy green plants, and this can be identified by satellites. This NDVI anomaly map, based on data from Terra MODIS, compares the health of plant life in August 2022 versus the exact same duration from 2000-2010. Brown areas show where plant health or “greenness” was listed below normal; greens suggest greenery that is more widespread and plentiful than normal. The chart below demonstrate how uncommon the NDVI measurements were in a location east of Willows considering that 2000.
August 2000– August 2022.
A burst of late-September rain used a bit of short-term relief for farmers, it will take significantly more wet weather condition for drought conditions to relieve. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, over 40 percent of California stayed in extreme drought and 17 percent faced remarkable dry spell on September 27. Many of the Sacramento Valley was categorized as experiencing severe dry spell.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects the California rice crop will be minimized by 38 percent this year. That would make this years crop the smallest given that 1977. Most California rice is brief or medium-grain rice for usage in meals such as paella, sushi, and risotto. Other US states, particularly Arkansas, produce the majority of the long-grain rice, such as basmati or jasmine rice.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey and data from the Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive & & Distribution System (LAADS) and Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).
According to the University of California, Davis agricultural financial expert Aaron Smith, the modifications were most noticable in Colusa and Glenn counties (the western part of the valley), where rice acreage dropped by a massive 84 and 75 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Farther to the east, in Butte County, rice acreage was only down by 17 percent. Farmers in that county had more groundwater to tap and were for that reason less affected by lowered water allocations from the Central Valley Water Project.
