Californian farmers delight in US Government $A766 million drought aid package

Joaquin Contente, dairy farmer and
 president of the Californian Farmers Union,
 implementing water conservation on his
farm at Hanford, California.

US President Obama has signed a bill delivering a $US558 million ($AU766m) relief package for drought-stricken farmers in California.

After years of wrangling over water allocations for the environment and fish, the legislation was approved by the US House and Senate, and signed by President Obama.

It will pay for desalination, water recycling and storage, as the most productive state in the US, enters possibly its sixth year of drought.

Congress has also approved $10 billion water infrastructure package, to increase pumping from reservoirs in the north to farmers in Central and southern California.

The President of the Californian Farmers Union, Joaquin Contente near Fresno in Central California said the package was a huge boost, when added to a better snowpack in the Sierras.

Groundwater resources which supply one-third of the water have been heavily depleted.

Read the ABC Rural story - “Californian farmers delight in US Government $A766 million drought aid package.”