Water... are we serious?

The other day while driving back from a location check, we took a small detour through an area that I hadn't visited from probably 20 plus years. A once thriving farming area is now not much more than a wasteland. As water for irrigation has become more expensive, the farmers, mostly dairy producers have been forced off the land, leaving vast tracks of land weed infested and unused. Now you could argue that poor farming practices led to the downfall of these farmers, and I would have to agree. flood irrigation of crops, to me seems to be entirely wasteful.

A number of resilient an innovative producers are making a go of farming their land, turning to newer farming and management practices, while producing higher value products. But the one thing that stood out most to me was the method of delivering water to the farm. Open earthen channels criss crossed the area. Large wide dirt channels. A channel system right out of the stone age, in fact this is the most primitive way of delivering water in existence and its still in use. These channel systems are maintained by semi government authorities and have been for over a hundred years. In that time it seems to me that these delivery systems have had nothing other than cosmetic changes made to them. Farmers have paid ever increasing amounts of money for their water. The revenues from the sale of water have been steadily flowing back into government coffers and in return the irrigators have been getting little in return. They have admittedly received their water, delivered to them in via the most primitive methods available.

It must really hurt farmers to be now hear governments talk about taking a long hard look at the viability of these areas and closing down pumped districts which still use channel systems. Favoring instead to make land available to large corporations who will bring to the areas modern irrigation practices that small farmers are unable to do. Quite funny in a way. Successive governments have milked the water cash cow for years, by taking the farmers money, but refusing to reinvest any of the earnings back into the irrigation schemes, then when the going gets tough, pointing a finger at farmers, telling them they are inefficient uses of a vital resource and they'll have to go.