Better Water for California and Baltimore Bridge Impact on Agriculture

**Better snowpack and reservoir levels means more water for California agriculture.

The California Department of Water Resources doubled the amount of water it expects to deliver this year to most contractors from 15% to 30% of requested supplies.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation increased Central Valley

Project allocations for south-of-delta agricultural water users from 15% to 35% and from 75% to 100% for those north of the delta.

**The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer shows an improved outlook for U.S. farmers in March with an index of 114, a three-point increase over February.

While the Index of Current Conditions fell two points to 101, the Index of Future Expectations climbed five points to 120.

The difference was linked to farmers’ perceptions of a financial downturn over the past year, coupled with expectations for improvement over the next 12 months.

**The container ship that recently slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge caused the structure’s collapse and six deaths, but the American Farm Bureau says there WILL ALSO BE an impact on American agriculture.

In 2023, over 605,000 metric tons of agricultural products were exported from Baltimore, corresponding to nearly $650 million in value.

This equates to 0.3 percent of total ag exports by volume and 0.4 percent by value.