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Trump Administration, California Headed For Showdown Over Valley Water

San Joaquin River Restoration Program
Water is flowing from Friant Dam into the San Joaquin River. The facility is managed by the federal government as part of the Central Valley Project (file photo)

California is often at odds with the Trump administration, and the latest battleground could be in the issue of managing the state's precious water supply. At the same time the state's water board is considering major cuts to water sent to farms and cities, the Trump administration is taking its own actions. Last week the Trump administration served notice that it wants to renegotiate a 32-year-old agreement that governs how the state and federal projects operate and cooperate.

This comes after another Trump administration directive ordering the Bureau of Reclamation to maximize delta pumping. So what does it mean for valley farmers? Fresno-based agribusiness analyst Roland Fumasi of Rabobank joined us on Valley Edition to talk about what he's seeing happen with land values and crop planting activity in the San Joaquin Valley. He says the longer uncertainty over water policy continues, he expects to see a slowdown in the future.

Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).