Determining Drought on California’s Mediterranean-Type Rangelands, The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

Abstract

ecent droughts in both developing and developed countries and the resulting economic and environmental impacts and personal hardships have underscored the vulnerability of all societies to this "natural" hazard. Although there are several defi nitions for drought, they almost always refer to a defi ciency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more. This defi ciency results in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector. The National Drought Mitigation Center defi nes four kinds of drought: meteorological, agricultural, hydrologic, and socioeconomic. 1 In this paper we focus on the precipitation and forageloss aspects of drought on California's annual rangelands. The goal of this paper is to propose changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), administered by USDA Farm Services Agency (FSA), that would make it more compatible with USDA conservation programs. We begin by discussing the characteristics of drought in California, and then consider the NAP and its application to California conditions.

Rain Use Efficiency, Primary Production and Rainfall Relationships in Desert Rangelands of Tunisia

“…Broadly speaking, ANPP was also positively correlated with increasing annual rainfall. This finding is generally consistent with previous studies in other rangelands around the word (Noy‐Meir, ; Le Houérou & Hoste, ; Le Houérou et al, ; Sala et al, ; Burke et al, ; Hooper & Johnson, ; Paruelo et al, ; Lauenroth et al, ; Huxman et al, ; Bai et al, ; Yang et al, ; George et al, ; Gamoun et al, ; Golodets et al, ; Gamoun, ; Eisfelder et al, ).…”

Ranching and Multiyear Droughts in Utah: Production Impacts, Risk Perceptions, and Changes in Preparedness

“…Government drought-assistance programs have been roundly criticized by scholars and producers alike for subsidizing high stocking rates in fragile environments, contributing to resource degradation, and rewarding poor stewardship as a form of ''moral hazard'' (Holechek 1996b;Thurow and Taylor 1999;Ward 1999;Dunn et al 2005;George et al 2010). The government safety net for drought has indeed been large for many years and appears to be growing.…”

“…Other work pertinent to ranching has usually been summarized in review or concept papers that focus on drought definitions, policy, or general management perspectives (Boykin et al 1962;Holechek et al 1994Holechek et al , 1999Holechek 1996aHolechek , 1996bThurow and Taylor 1999;Ward 1999;Dunn et al 2005;Miller 2005;Schwinning et al 2008;George et al 2010). Major droughts are slow-onset or ''creeping'' hazards, that once perceived, require management decisions to be made quickly under uncertainty.…”

Mediterranean Climate

“…Monitoring of range forage production at the San Joaquin Experimental Range (Madera County) and the University of California Sierra Foothill and Hopland Research and Extension Centers has allowed researchers to describe seasonal and annual variation in forage production (Murphy 1970;Pitt and Heady 1978;Pendleton et al 1983;George et al 1988aGeorge et al , 1988bGeorge et al , 1989George et al , 2001George et al and 2010 Range forage production is strongly influenced by the amount and timing of precipitation. For the range livestock producer, a normal year is characterized by near average forage production.…”

“…The coastal areas of a county may have adequate precipitation, but drier inland locations may have low precipitation and forage reductions exceeding 50 percent. Data from San Luis Obispo County reveals that forage reductions of 50 percent or more are less frequent at coastal sites than inland sites (George et al 2010).…”