FRESNO, Calif. – A new state report shows California farmers reaping record sales despite the drought.
California agriculture officials released their annual report for 2014 late last month. It shows California farmers recorded $53.5 billion in sales. That's the same year Gov. Jerry Brown declared the state in a drought emergency.
Experts say California farmers overall are weathering the drought because of high customer demand for crops like almonds and because growers are able to dig deeper, bigger wells to irrigate their fields.
The figures are sure to stoke tensions between the cities and the countryside.
Critics say the water for farms comes at the expense of wildlife and household wells.
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