ARE Update Volume 19, Number 5

1. Water Pricing for a Dry Future: Pricing Policies from Abroad and Their Relevance to California It is raining again in California. How long will it last and how effective will it be in addressing the long-term water scarcity that the state faces? We live in a water-scarce, drought-prone state and this fact has to be taken into account in shaping water conservation policy. At a recent water-pricing workshop, co-sponsored by the Giannini Foundation, leading scholars from several countries presented case studies. These illustrated how water-pricing mechanisms have been used creatively throughout the world for promotion of water conservation under water-scarce situations. 2. Growers’ Assessments of Challenges Facing the California Rice Industry: Past and Present Rice growers in California face many challenges in 2016. In this piece, we consider current challenges cited by growers and their relationship to past challenges in the industry. 3. California Agriculture: Water, Labor, and Immigration Farmers fear shortages of water and labor. Both have been in short supply in recent years due to drought and reduced Mexico–U.S. migration. California agriculture may be at a crossroads on both issues, facing higher costs and more uncertainty about the availability of two critical inputs.