Op-Ed: Drought can cloud focus on what should be adding water storage

California's unrelenting drought should spur collective action to find ways to fix the problem, such as building additional water storage and increased conservation when feasible. Improving our plight is infinitely tougher when a lack of media balance and outdated thinking enter in.

Articles such as the recent "Feds pay farmers to till arid land" from the Associated Press are misleading and not constructive.

This article claims that federal programs provide an unfair "double dip" of subsidies for growers of certain crops, including rice, to farm "water-thirsty crops in what was once desert."

This is a worn out argument that has been resurfacing for decades, and is no closer to being true now than it was when the late Marc Reisner wrote his views about California rice production in the impactful book "Cadillac Desert" in 1986.

The truth is that California's 2,500 rice farmers have some of the most senior water rights in the state, and for good reason. The overwhelming amount of water used in the Sacramento Valley, which is where more than 95 percent of the state's crop is grown, is not subsidized. Our water source comes from dams and canals developed and paid for by farmers.

All Californians benefit from rice fields in the state — most people just don't realize it. Not only did rice provide one of the few bright spots in our economy last year, with a $1.3 billion impact, rice supplies a staple food for the world, thousands of jobs and a wealth of environmental benefits.

Water for rice is water for the environment. More than 220 wildlife species utilize California rice fields, which provide an estimated $1 billion in habitat value, supplying nearly 50 percent of the food for millions of wintering waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway. This is especially valuable, since the vast majority of California's original wetlands are gone.

Support from the U.S. Farm Bill helps our farmers maintain these environmental benefits. The truth is that payments to farmers comprise a small fraction of the overall Farm Bill spending. Two-thirds of the funds head directly to consumers through food and nutrition programs.

Another misunderstanding involves the perception of rice being among the more water intensive crops. In reality, our fields are flooded to a depth of only 5 inches, and it takes about the same amount of water to grow a serving of rice as it does oranges or broccoli. It also takes less water per acre to grow rice than it does to maintain your lawn. Additionally, through laser leveling fields, improved varieties and other innovations, we have improved water efficiency by nearly 40 percent over the last 30 years. We are continuing to seek ways to maximize efficiency involving our most precious resource, water.

The debate over the best use of water will likely intensify. To make meaningful strides in this area, one must move beyond dusty old arguments and have all of the facts on the table.

The fact is rice has long been a convenient target. Those who have taken the time to find out the truth have learned this criticism doesn't hold up. Reisner was among those who, presented with all of the facts and seeing rice fields firsthand, made a quantum change in thinking. The knowledge that he gained transformed him from one of our biggest adversaries into one of our strongest allies.

All it takes is knowing — and accepting — the facts.

Tim Johnson is president and CEO of the California Rice Commission in Sacramento.