Drought, Food, and The Future

Drought, Food, and The Future

The drought has brought in sharp focus many issues, fundamentally it is about water, lack of water. Water however is no where near the top of the discussions we hear.

Perspectives shape views, concerns range from crop production, farm losses, food prices, balance between energy and food ratios, inflation. Food shortages have lead to at least a few regimes demise through out history. Remember, drought is about lack of water.

This brings us to a whole new view and issues, aquifers, drawdown and recharge, we are pumping water out far faster than it is replenishing itself. Some large aquifers are in fact expected by science to go dry. The Ogallala is ancient glacial water, the recharge source has been gone for thousands of years. The Ogallala is the largest aquifer in America.

Since the 1950’s, "predevelopment" when we your started pumping water out of Ogallala with electric pumps instead of windmills, the water table level has been dropping.

Unfortunately, this is a fact worldwide. So food production to feed the estimated nine billion world population twenty five years from now, must be the bigger question.

Questions from an individuals point of view could be, how can I and my offspring really be prepared. Personal responsibility and an individualistic spirit exemplified our ancestors. What can I do now to be prepared, for the generations to come.

Your water source is the key, do you depend on a municipal system? How secure do feel about that? Are you looking forward to a time when the ability to produce a percentage of your our required nutrition may be required? Remember the 2012 drought is leading to food shortages worldwide with six billion people today. World population is expected to increase by fifty percent in the next twenty five years.

With a relatively small parcel of land you can produce; grass feed beef, poultry, eggs, pork, fruits, vegetables, even milk, cheese, and fish, but you have to have a stable supply of water. It is a ton of work. It is how most Americans got through the depression, self sufficiency. We have superior tools and technology than they did. Greenhouses, electric well pumps, solar applications, aquaponics, kitchen counter sized milk pasturizers. The list goes on and on. Self sustainable lifestyles are considerably easier today than it was in the 1930’s.

The oil industry, hydrology, geology, climate change studies, well monitoring, flow gauge measurements of seeps and springs, weather monitoring of precipitation and snow pack, all add to our data and knowledge about what is going on below the surface of the land. We have a great deal of science regarding which water sources are stable, or in balance and which are not or may not be.

Where you own land will determine whether you have water or not.

Chris W. Miller
Vegas Grand Realty and Property Management
435-862-5951
702-990-5951

Nevada Water Rights

Land in Nevada

Nevada Ranch Properties

Lincoln County Land Market

Mesquite NV Real Estate Market

Ranch Land, Irrigated Farm Land, Drought and Water Rights

Irrigated Farm Land, Cattle Ranches with Water Rights listed and sold here.

Much of Nevada land is public owned lands. Nevada has the most public lands in the continental United States, much of it is managed by the BLM or Bureau of Land Management. Water Rights on Ranch land in Nevada is our most precious resource.

Many Nevada Ranches have BLM range land leases for grazing livestock. For instance, you can own 1000 acres and have grazing access to 40,000 acres through these lease arrangements. There are a few important considerations when shopping the ranch land market and leases. Are the water rights owned, is the land contiguous to the leases?

Range land condition and shared occupancy matter also. Are there wild horses on the ranges? While wild horses are beautiful and an American heritage, they can be very hard on the range land and compete with livestock for the food and water resources on the range land.

Water and drought are coming to the forefront in terms of farm and ranch land purchase considerations. Cattle herds are being sold off today due to lack of water and feed in much of the United States. This will lead to a shrinking supply of beef at your grocery store and of course higher prices.

Alfalfa hay supply is in very tight demand with rising prices. Relative to world population arable farm land continues to shrink.

Today it is not just drought that worries farmers and ranchers, ground water aquifers have begun to come into question. Falling ground water tables and regulations coming out of Washington DC's EPA are making some farm land useless. Investing in farm and ranch land continues to be a focus of some of Wall Street's brightest investors.

Just as mineral rights are important to mining and oil companies, water rights are paramount to farmers and ranchers. However, if there are no minerals or water in the ground, rights matter not.

This area of real estate is specialized; it requires a special set of skills and market market knowledge. Issues like critical water shortages, range land quality, AUM regulation, basin allocation, water table stability, etc.

If you are interested in investing in farm or ranch land or you are considering a career in agriculture, you must be prepared. I will be happy to help you understand the important questions you need to be asking.

Chris W. Miller
Vegas Grand Realty and Property Management
435-862-5951
702-990-5951

Nevada Water Rights

Land in Nevada

Nevada Ranch Properties

Lincoln County Land Market

Mesquite NV Real Estate Market

Will There Be Water?

Will There Be Water?
In the space of a lifetime, critical issues about water use, and the availability of fresh water will confront the world. Food production, municipalities, industry, and energy will all compete for a dwindling natural resource, Water.

Excerpts from Southwest Hydrology September/October 2008, with some Commentary!
Early in U.S. history, public policy was fashioned to encourage settlement of the West. Laws such as the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Desert Lands Act of 1877 were framed to transfer government land to settlers. In 1902 the Reclamation Act provided funding for construction and maintenance of western irrigation projects. In its first annual report (1903), Reclamation had this to say" so that the remaining public lands will furnish the greatest possible number of homes, is an object worthy of the sustained effort of enlightened and patriotic citizens". The public works that followed included such things as Hoover Dam, Shasta Dam, Newlands project, Yuma Project, Klamath project, Hetchy Aqueduct, and many more. With the 1902 Reclamation act the face of the West was changed forever. It must be pointed out and understood, these efforts and projects were directed at irrigation needs, based on a population that farmed for a living. Nothing like the urban shifts projected today!

Basin and Range Carbonate Aquifer System Study

What is a Water Table?

NASA Data Reveal Major Groundwater Loss in California

Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide.

Then came the drought-at a magnitude that had no probability of occurring, according to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation models based on a century of historical data. Sorry science guys, in the big picture, a century of data, barely counts as a data base.
In the blink of an eye, half a decades work to manage the Colorado River and meet the supply requirement and commitments has faded, as have the water levels in the Colorado River's two prime reservoirs. Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Today science is telling to expect less in the future.
Lake Powell Water Levels available ta Nevada Water Rights.com

The opportunity to own water rights in this arid region, especially at today's prices will soon go by the way side. This offering price is currently subject to change without notice.



Chris W. Miller

Independence Realty

435-862-5951

702-733-9337

Land in Nevada
Nevada Ranch Properties

Lincoln County Land Market

Mesquite NV Real Estate Market

Nevada Water Rights