Western Lakes’ Droughts and Floods Both Cause Problems for Agriculture

Mar 29, 2023

By Pam Knox

There have been several articles in the news recently about the impacts of both heavy rain and continuing drought on large lakes in the Southwestern United States. In California, a series of atmospheric rivers has brought huge volumes of water to the region, drowning agricultural land and causing disputes between farmers about where the water should go. In Utah, the Great Salt Lake is on the verge of disappearing completely after years of overuse of water to grow alfalfa, causing clouds of toxic dust to affect those in Salt Lake City and threatening water supplies. This story is similar to what happened to the Aral Sea in Asia, which lost more than 90% of its water due to diversion to grow cotton. At this point, unless massive changes are made to how water is used in that region, they may suffer a permanent loss of the Great Salt Lake, which will force residents of that area to move to other parts of the United States as they run out of water. Here are some articles that address the impacts of too little or too much water on these lakes in the driest part of the country.

Deseret News: How Lake Bonneville became the Great Salt Lake

New York Times: As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces an ‘Environmental Nuclear Bomb’

New York Times: I Am Haunted by What I Have Seen at Great Salt Lake (photo essay)

Matador Network: The Aral Sea Is the Ecological Disaster That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

Los Angeles Times: Worry and suspicion reign as once-dry Tulare Lake drowns California farmland

Source : uga.edu

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.