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Crop water use refers to the amount of water that is lost from vegetation, soil and other surfaces to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. In this process, the liquid water is released as water vapor. Once it rises into the atmosphere, it becomes invisible, mixes in all directions, thus evading our ability to manage it.

Water management is becoming more challenging with increases in both very dry and very wet years — often back-to-back. This dry-wet-dry “weather whiplash” can be especially challenging to manage in perennial crops like nuts and wine grapes. One emerging strategy and philosophy for coping with weather whiplash is regenerative agriculture.

Extreme weather spurred by climate change, including droughts and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers ending up in groundwater, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The study found heavy rains after a drought caused nitrates to seep 33 feet under farm fields in as little as 10 days.

On a warm February afternoon, Kirk Pumphrey walks down his rows of almond trees at Westwind Farms in Yolo County. He notices the buds on the branches have already sprouted pink. It worries him. The earlier the trees bloom, the more likely winter frost will damage the nuts. Early blooms are occurring more often as higher temperatures from climate change stimulate plant growth.