Study: Drought to Cost Ag Industry Nearly $3B

FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ) — The effects of a prolonged drought are very much visible throughout the state, especially here in the valley.

Lawns have gone brown, cars are filthy, and some communities are facing drinking water shortages.

But the problem, unsurprisingly, is substantially worse when it comes to agriculture.

According to a new University of California, Davis study, California farmers will lose nearly $3 billion in 2015.

18,000 jobs are expected to be lost, with 564,000 acres of land fallowed.

Still, the overall economic impact is forecast to be small, and valley unemployment should drop into the single digits this year.