The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region

The report investigates the feasibility of shifting specialty crop production from California to the mid-Mississippi Delta region due to climate-driven uncertainties in California. While the Delta offers fertile soil, abundant water, and economic development opportunities, it faces hurdles including high humidity, pest pressure, a lack of specialty crop infrastructure, and labor shortages. The document outlines a plan for Phase II, focusing on seed varietal testing, innovative financing, and the design of a pilot program to diversify the region's commodity-heavy agricultural base.

• Climate change is creating instability for California's agriculture through increased droughts, severe weather, and reduced Sierra Nevada snowfall, which limits water availability for late-summer production cycles and threatens perennial orchards.
• The mid-Mississippi Delta region possesses several advantages for specialty farming, including fertile soils, low land and labor costs, and abundant water from the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. Additionally, climate change is extending the region's growing season.
• Significant climatic differences exist between the mid-Mississippi Delta and California's Central Valley, specifically higher humidity, colder winters, and hotter summer nights. While humidity increases pest risks, the Delta's winter seasonality provides necessary 'chilling time' for crops like peaches that may struggle in a warming California.
• The region's current agricultural infrastructure is heavily geared toward commodity row crops (rice, soy, wheat, corn, and cotton) and lacks the cold storage, specialized processing, and rapid shipping capabilities required for delicate specialty produce.
• Labor is a primary hurdle because specialty crops require hand-harvesting, unlike mechanically harvested row crops. While the H-2A migrant labor program is an option, it is bureaucratic and prone to abuse; the report suggests that paying local labor more could be cost-competitive with the 'all-in' cost of migrant labor.
• Existing US government subsidies heavily favor commodity crops over specialty crops. For example, Arkansas commodity farmers received approximately $500 million in 2017, while the USDA's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is described as 'miniscule' by comparison.
• The use of the herbicide Dicamba on row crops poses a significant risk to specialty produce due to aerial drift, with varying levels of regulation and enforcement across Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas.

APA

Kurnik, J. (2020). The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/638/34t96wfe6b_The_Next_California_Phase_1_Report_02_27_20.pdf

Chicago

Kurnik, Julia. The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region. WWF International, 2020. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/638/34t96wfe6b_The_Next_California_Phase_1_Report_02_27_20.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kurnik |first1=Julia |title=The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region |publisher=WWF International |date=February 2020 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/638/34t96wfe6b_The_Next_California_Phase_1_Report_02_27_20.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kurnik2020next, author = {Kurnik, Julia}, title = {{The Next California Phase 1: Investigating Potential in the mid-Mississippi Delta River region}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/638/34t96wfe6b_The_Next_California_Phase_1_Report_02_27_20.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }