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Bobby Lui
Ms. Ayik
Writing 10- Section 14
06 April 2014
Drought Hits Merced: Farmers And Citizens Affected Tremendously
During this past year in the city of Merced and its counties, lack of water has not only
affected citizen’s of Merced, but also the agricultural workers and the city’s economically as
well because farmer’s are declining in production of crops. The drought has become a
continuing topic that is being debated, many citizens of Merced and other close counties have
banded together to find a possible solution to end this crisis, but have been unsuccessful so far.
As stated by Javier Guzman, a retired farm worker from Fresno, “You have farmworkers right
now, who feed the nation and world, and they’re in bread lines out in Mendota” (Holland 1719). In this report, Guzman makes a claim about the increase of unemployment rates that are
currently occurring in the United States, he relates this to the drought situation by claiming that
many farmers could lose their jobs because of this issue. Farmers, as well as other citizens who
are employed, need to support themselves as well as families, so therefore, it is crucial that the
Drought issue is resolved quickly to prevent unemployment rates from growing. Additionally,
Retail price costs have also gone up. According to Ron Gohl, a rancher and consumer in
Oakdale, California, has seen first hand on Merced’s drought issue and the effects it has on
market production, consumers and citizens. He states “Retail prices averaged $5.58 per pound
as of February, up from $5.18 a year earlier and $5.03 two years ago, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture” (Holland 28-31). In this statement, Gohl is exclaiming that
consumers are paying more for their meat products due to the decline in agricultural resources.
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In similar words, Gohl is stating that because of the drought, farmers are not able to produce
enough meat to send to the markets for citizens to purchase. The increase in prices is another
critical reason on why the drought issue needs to be resolved, consumers are paying more for
their products in today’s unstable economic environment. With many other prices that are
dramatically increasing, resolving the drought issue could potentially eliminate the economic
crisis that is continuing to increase. Because the citizens of Merced are unable to find a
possible solution to resolve the major issue that has been occurring, problems such as lack of
water supply, agricultural difficulties and economic impact continue to rise. The drought issue
has not only affected citizens and agricultural workers in terms of economic difficulty, but also
unemployment rates as well as many farm workers are constantly out of job because of this
crisis. Additionally, the lack of water supply has provided a large amount of difficulty to the
farmers in growing crops or production of food products.
The lack of water supply has made farmer’s and ranch owner’s life more difficult.
Because of the lack of water supply, Animal starvation has been occurring throughout local
farms and ranches in Merced as well as other close counties. Due to the difficulties in feeding
the animals, food production has also been a significant challenge. According to John Herlihy,
a ranch owner in Fresno who has experienced difficulty in feeding animals around the farm
because of the drought issue, states that lack of water supply has caused certain plants and
grass around the ranch to decline in growth. He interprets “The drought, now in its third and by
far worst year, has hit ranchers especially hard. They rely on nonirrigated land to feed their
cattle from midfall to midspring” (Holland 13-16). In this excerpt, Herlihy is claiming that
throughout the last three years, the drought problem has continued to rise. It has never been
resolved. Therefore, it is extremely difficult for farmers and other agricultural workers to
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support themselves since they rely on growing crops and raising animals for salary. Since the
lack of rainfall and water supply is causing problems with growth of land, farmers and
agricultural workers are not able to grow land, causing a decline in production of products.
In an effort to resolve the drought issue, which has risen to its worst in 2014, Dorothy
Leland, the chancellor for the University Of California, Merced has suggested that students
limit their use of water in their daily lives. She exclaims “UC Merced began slashing water
usage long before even the specter of drought began to loom. As of the 2012-13 school year,
UC Merced had reduced its per-capita water use by 43% since 2007.” In this excerpt, She
describes how the University is already in progress of trying to prevent the drought situation
from rising by encouraging students to conserve water usage in their daily lives. Additionally,
the university's drinking, sewer and irrigation water are all carefully audited, and each building
is individually metered so officials can see real-time usage. There is also a metering system
that is used each year for a residence-hall competition to see which building can cut the most
water use. Leland and other University affiliated on campus organizations are also encouraging
students to save some emergency water in the case of a dire emergency. Because of this highly
useful method, citizens in Merced as well as agricultural workers are able to have a more
effective way of water usage as University students are using less of the city water supply that
is mainly provided for farmers.
The California Drought has also brought agricultural difficulties to the local farmers and
ranch owners in the city of Merced. In addition to the decline of food production in markets
and other retail stores around Merced, many farmers are also being put out of job. According to
State Senator Anthony Cannella who has witnessed first hand the effect the drought has
caused to farmers and other retail workers, he states “The state’s assumption that the exchange
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contractors can rely upon groundwater is faulty and will deprive many users of their only
source of water. 80% of the growers in the region do not have their own wells. Even district
owned wells can only deliver up to half an acre-foot per acre in some areas. It must be noted,
however, that is spread throughout the entire irrigation season. It also assumes there is surface
water flowing in the canals to minimize water loss. This could result in the fallowing of over
200,000 acres in the exchange contractors' service area” (Canella 20-25). In this statement,
Canella is exclaiming that the city’s water supply system is not suffice to provide water supply
to agricultural workers and other farmers to build their land. The water that is provided to farm
workers is only enough to cover a portion of their acres. Therefore, it is extremely crucial that
the current drought issue must be resolved in order to benefit not only the city, but also the
farm workers as well.
In addition to the difficulty in planting and growing items, many farmers and agricultural
workers have been put out of job as an effect of the Merced drought issue. According to
county spokesperson Mike North, the unemployment issue could rise to a whole new level if
this drought issue is not resolved. He exclaims “One area that will likely hit the county
particularly hard is unemployment. Without rain, that could turn into a tidal wave at this point”
(North 19-25). In this excerpt, North is stating that if the drought issue is not resolved quickly,
more farmworkers and ranch owners will be put out of commission. Given that our economy’s
unemployment rate has already gone up, it is not a surprise that a farmer, ranch owner or
agricultural worker is put out of job because they are unable to produce food or other products
to ship to market for sale. This is another heavy issue that needs to be fixed, or farmers will
continue to experience this problem with growing and producing items.
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The drought issue has also affected Merced’s economic impact on regions as well.
As stated by Senator Anthony Canella, an individual who has witnessed this issue, “The
economic impacts to their region would be staggering. It was only four years ago when
communities reached unemployment rates of over 40%. The state provided emergency food
deliveries in Firebaugh, Huron, Mendota, Selma and San Joaquin. 46% of the total
employment in the exchange contractors' service area and those communities is related to
agriculture. For some communities, this number increases to 84%. Over 4,000 jobs within the
area are in jeopardy. In just one year, there would be an over $800 million loss in the region if
those acres were to be fallowed” (Canella 36-32). In this statement, Canella ties back to the
unemployment rate that has been growing tremendously in the state of California. He states
that if this drought issue is not resolved, there would be a tremendous loss of land which would
increase unemployment.
A possible solution to end the drought in Merced is for the government to provide
significant funds to those in need. As stated by Country Spokesperson Mike North, “Every
farmer is worried about an immediate future with little or no water. But there are other
programs such as food banks in the Valley and $3 million for communities running out of
drinking water – that could help people beyond the farm gate once such a declaration is made”
(North 11-13). In this excerpt, North is protesting the city to form a declaration to provide
money to help those in dire need such as farm workers, agricultural workers and ranch owners
so they can avoid the possibility of unemployment.
The drought issue in Merced has not only affected citizens, but other farm workers and
ranch owners as well. The lack of water has caused unemployment rates to increase, but also
prices in food as well. Consumers have been paying more for their food due to this large issue
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that has been affecting the city. There has also been a lack of region and economic crisis that
have strongly impacted the city.
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