LISTEN: A new study by the University of Georgia finds consumers may see fewer vegetables from California and more from the Peach State. GPB’s Chase McGee explains.
Climate change could make water in the western U.S. even more scarce and push some crop production towards Georgia, where water is more plentiful, a University of Georgia study found.
It means consumers may see fewer vegetables from California and more from the Peach State.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, changes in precipitation, temperature and evaporation rates due to rising carbon dioxide concentrations — the chief driver of climate change — are projected to increase surface water supplies in most Eastern watersheds but decrease them in the West.
Those patterns may be amplified or weakened depending on population growth and groundwater availability, said.
Dr. Jeff Mullen, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at UGA, said South Georgia’s sandy blend of soil also puts the state's farmers at an advantage.
"So when we do get a lot of water and rain, we end up with the situation where a lot of that water percolates down into the aquifers, which is basically a natural storage system for us." Mullen said.
While Georgia still won’t be immune from drought, Mullen said that means farmers — and their crops — will be able to better handle water stress here than in the West.
