California drought: Drone video shows dry, idle rice fields around Sacramento Valley
A California Rice Commission video shows how dry weather conditions in the state have affected this year’s Sacramento Valley rice crop.
“While much of the Sacramento Valley rice crop was planted, this dry year has led to an acreage drop of about 20 percent,” the commission wrote on its Facebook page.
The drone video shows rice fields near Yuba City, with much of the ground left idle.
The rice commission reported valley rice planting down down about 100,000 acres.
This year, California’s major reservoirs are holding, on average, just half what they should for this time of year, and the drought storage is diminishing rapidly, the Sacramento Bee reported.
David Caraccio
The Sacramento Bee