California’s water efficiency rules aim to combat future shortages

**California Water Resources The Control Council approved a regulation aimed at promoting more efficient use of water, which is expected to help address the 10 percent shortage of water resources that is expected to occur by 2040.

The regulation applies to the largest municipal retail water suppliers, which serve 95% of California.

The goal is to save half a million acre-feet of water per year by 2040, enough to supply more than 1.4 million homes.

**Number of farmers the number of people responding to surveys by the National Agricultural Statistics Service is decreasing.

According to Ag Web Dot Com, in the early 1990s the response rate for NASS crop surveys was 80-85%, but by the late 2010s it had dropped below 60% in some cases.

Response rates are influenced by factors including data privacy concerns and restrictions imposed by farmers.

Increasingly frequent requests for information from farmers also discourage some from responding.

**USDA is closing down Marketing Regulation No. 929, which regulates the handling of cranberries grown in several states, including Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, and several others.

In October 2023, the USDA suspended the authority of the Cranberry Marketing Committee after a referendum to continue failed to show support from producers.

During the comment period, Ag Marketing Service received only five comments and it was determined that termination of the contract was justified.

For more information, visit www.ams.usda.gov.