Editor:
The other day I was returning to Paradise, and noticed far more than normal truck traffic heading towards town. The reason? Fall harvest! I passed five trucks hauling spuds from Winnemucca Farms, two grain trucks and two alfalfa trucks, likely from Orovada, a livestock truck full of calves, and one full of lambs, I suppose, from Kings River or up Denio way.
A bit of calculation tells us that the gross value of those 11 trucks passed in a period of abound 20 to 25 minutes was somewhere in the vicinity of $140,000. A lot of value, but a minor part of what Humboldt produces annually.
Humboldt County agriculture produces somewhere around $75 million in direct sales each year. For every dollar of direct sales, economists tell us that another $1.50 to $2 of indirect money within the community is generated by such as purchase of supplies, equipment, etc.
Therefore, along with the direct economic impacts, this amounts to somewhere around a $200 million annual impact to the local economy because of agriculture - pretty substantial figures!
But Humboldt agriculture is totally dependent on one particularly very important renewable resource, water. Without water, agriculture here would all but disappear. Nevada law requires all counties to have a water plan, and if you don't, then the state plan takes effect. Clark and Washoe have plans, as well as Elko. And Elko's must be pretty successful, as it has kept the Vegas water grabbers at bay so far.
Can Humboldt County lose its water resources to a place like Reno, Sparks and Fernley? You better believe it can. Does Humboldt County have a water plan, a plan that would be critical in stopping such a water grab? The answer to that is pretty simple: it doesn't. Might just be a fact worth considering when three current seats on the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners are up for grabs in the upcoming election.
Tony Lesperance
Paradise Valley
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