By Chris Hancock
California is one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions, supplying U.S. and international markets with more than 350 different farm products. Water plays a critical role in California agriculture. Agriculture typically uses about 80% of California’s developed water supply. Understanding how agricultural water use has changed over time can help inform policy and strengthen agricultural resilience in the face of a changing climate.
Pacific Institute’s issue brief, “Water for Food and Farms: Trends in California, 1960–2022,” examines water use in California agriculture, changes over time and across crops, and the state’s agricultural economics using statewide data and publicly available information.
The analysis highlights five key trends:
1. Agricultural water use varies substantially from year to year.
Weather, irrigated acreage, and crop type drive year-to-year variability in agricultural water use. Overall, water use has ranged from a low of 25.7 million acre-feet (MAF) in 1992 to a high of 37.0 MAF in 2008. Since 2007, agricultural water use has declined by an average of 0.27 MAF per year, reaching 31.5 MAF in 2022.
2. Irrigated acreage has remained relatively stable over time.
Since the early 1970s, total irrigated crop acreage has varied by just over 10%, ranging from 8.9 million to 9.9 million acres and averaging 9.3 million acres. This relative stability has occurred even as crop types have shifted.
3. Water use has shifted toward orchards and vineyards.
Between 1998 and 2022, applied water use for field and vegetable crops declined by 21% and 33%, while applied water use for orchard and vineyard crops increased by approximately 175% and 120%. As permanent crops have expanded, agricultural water use has become less flexible and more vulnerable to water supply constraints.
4. The economic productivity of agricultural water has increased.
The economic productivity of agricultural water has more than doubled. In 1960, an acre-foot of agricultural water generated about $650 in agricultural revenue. By 2022, that figure had risen to about $1,400 per acre-foot, adjusted for inflation.
5. More than 20% of the state’s agricultural water irrigates crops for livestock.
About 15% of the state’s irrigated acreage and more than 20% of its applied agricultural water are dedicated to feeding livestock. California’s dairy industry is the largest in the nation and consistently the largest contributor to the state’s agricultural revenue, exceeding $11.5 billion in sales in 2022.
Learn more in Pacific Institute’s issue brief, “Water for Food and Farms: Trends in California, 1960–2022.”