California Drought’s Effect On Farmworkers

California has suffered a drought for three years straight, but there’s a stark disparity between those who feel it and those who don’t. For those living in San Francisco or Los Angeles, where water flows freely from the taps and grocery store shelves brim with fruits and vegetables, the crisis can feel very far away. But in the state’s rural Central Valley, where much of this produce is grown, it’s a different story. The Central Valley produces a quarter of the nation’s food, and close to half of its fruit—citrus alone brings in $2 billion. But there are dozens of acres of empty land in the Valley where growers have ripped out their orchards. Some trees are pruned to the nubs to keep them alive on scant water, while many others are simply dying. Vanessa Rancaño reports from the Tulare Basin in the southern end of the valley, the area hardest hit. Photo/Sean Havey