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- Jamie Applegate

COALINGA - As motorists drive down the highway toward the small town of Coalinga, located in the fertile Central Valley of California, they cannot help but see the bright yellow signs reading "Congress Created Dust Bowl."

For many Central Valley farmers, these signs represent their concerns as they are impacted by drought, state-level conflicts between farmers and conservationists, and water allocation cuts.

The effect of the crisis has already been seen in diminished crop yields.

"Historically WWD has produced over $1 billion in food products," said Sarah Woolf, spokeswoman for Westlands Water District, which delivers water to western Fresno and Kings counties. "That number is off by over one-third this year."

Note: The above article has been shortened from its published form in The Madera Tribune newspaper. For information about an online subscription, view http://maderatribuneredline.com/online-subscriptions/