California experienced a severe multiyear drought stretching from 2011 through 2017, significantly reducing surface water supply for ecosystems, agriculture, and humans and prompting coordinated conservation efforts. Given that agriculture is the largest consumptive use of water in the state, one anticipated response to a severe drought would be to decrease production of low-value, high-water-use crops such as alfalfa. In this article we use a multimethod approach to examine both spatial distribution and public perceptions of alfalfa production in California over the course of the 2011 through 2017 drought. We find that although California alfalfa production did decline at the state level, it persisted and even increased in specific areas of the state. We also find that alfalfa persisted even though discourses and understandings that were critical of alfalfa production emerged in public forums during this time. We situate these findings within a broader context of California’s water management system, which meant that in practice, infrastructure and water rights allocation practices left many growers with little incentive to change growing practices, even in the face of serious meteorological drought.

加利福尼亚州从 2011 年到 2017 年经历了严重的多年干旱，显着减少了生态系统、农业和人类的地表水供应，并促进了协调一致的保护工作。鉴于农业是该州最大的用水消耗领域，应对严重干旱的预期对策之一是减少苜蓿等低价值、高耗水作物的产量。在本文中，我们使用多种方法来研究 2011 年至 2017 年干旱期间加利福尼亚州苜蓿生产的空间分布和公众认知。我们发现，尽管加州苜蓿产量在州一级确实有所下降，但在该州的特定地区却持续存在甚至增加。我们还发现，尽管在此期间公共论坛上出现了对苜蓿生产持批评态度的言论和理解，但苜蓿仍然存在。我们将这些发现置于加利福尼亚州水管理系统的更广泛背景下，这意味着在实践中，基础设施和水权分配做法使许多种植者几乎没有动力改变种植做法，即使面对严重的气象干旱。