The state of agriculture and China’s impact

Our country is experiencing a severe drought that has seen cattlemen reducing their herds because of a shortage of feed. They are watching in disbelief as California ships hay to China. China’s diet has changed and they have millions of cows that do not have enough pasture. Alfalfa exports to China have ballooned to an estimated 380,000 metric tons in 2012 from 2,320 metric tons in 2007.

Our trade imbalance with China is so bad that China can fill containers with hay and ship it to China for half the cost of shipping it to the dairies in the central valley of California.

Our U.S. Department of Agriculture is promoting the development of this new export market by encouraging farmers to switch their land to hay. Alfalfa is a water-guzzling crop and the water needed to produce this much hay would supply the needs of 500,000 families. If our government believes that we must supply China with milk why don’t we ship them powdered milk? That would create much needed jobs!

Thinking of water shortage, this is the same California that wanted to divert water from the Columbia River about four or five decades ago.

Gerald W. Ray, Spokane