California Governor Jerry Brown’s mandatory water reductions have been criticized for their focus on urban users when agriculture uses 80 percent of the state’s water. But if you’re a farmer in California you’ve already been living the drought for the past two years. Last year, farmers received zero percent water allotments from the federal and state government. This year, farmers may get 20 percent of their allotment from the state but none from the federal government.

Joining us to explain why California should keep the water flowing to farms around the state, even during the drought, is Chris Scheuring. He’s an environmental lawyer with the California Farm Bureau Federation who specializes in water. His family farms in Yolo County.

LINKS:

• CBS San Francisco: Some Northern California Farmers Not Planting This Year, Sell Water To Los Angeles At $700 Per Acre Foot
• Western Farm Press: What happens if US loses California food production?
• Standard Examiner: No federal water this year for parched California farms
• NBC News: California Farmers Near 'Survival Mode' as Drought Drags On
• Farm Bureau Relase About Plantings
• CapRadio.org: New California Water Reductions Don't Apply to Farmers
• Farmers, Water Agencies React To Brown's Water Order