With California in the middle of another drought, family owned farms across the state are struggling to grow a sufficient amount of produce to sell and support their families.
José Alcántar, the owner of Alcantar Organics in Carpinteria, Calif. and father of three, said he usually grows 75,000 lettuce plants every two weeks. Due to the lack of rain this year, there has been a dip in his farm’s lettuce production. “It’s always sunny and hot,” Alcántar said.
“It’s hard to grow anything. It’s hard without rain.”
He said he had to adapt to the drier conditions, including leaving some fields dry intentionally, planting more drought-tolerant crops and seeking new income sources all-together.
Jose Alcantar, owner of Alcantar Organics, walks by a dry patch while looking for fruits growing on the fence at his family farm in Carpinteria, Calif., on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.
