<
https://apnews.com/article/california-agave-farming-9145773e0ae300964c7487f791e4f429>
"MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on
the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked
the way they looked.
A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others
hope is a promising new crop for the state following years of punishing drought
and a push to scale back on groundwater pumping.
The 49-year-old mechanical engineer is one of a growing number of Californians
planting agave to be harvested and used to make spirits, much like the way
tequila and mezcal are made in Mexico. The trend is fueled by the need to find
hardy crops that don’t need much water and a booming appetite for premium
alcoholic beverages since the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s attracted entrepreneurs such as Ortega, as well as some California
farmers. They’re seeking to shift to more water-efficient crops and irrigation
methods to avoid fallowing their fields with looming limits on how much
groundwater they can pump, as well as more extreme weather patterns anticipated
with climate change. Agave, unlike most other crops, thrives on almost no
water."
Via
The Fixer November 8, 2023:
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/california-farmers-drought-agave-spirits/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
