A combination of individual entrepreneurship and federal policies encouraging settlement of the West transformed California’s great Central Valley into what it is today: the most productive agricultural region in the world. In addition to being the state’s top-producing agricultural region, the valley is one of California’s fastest-growing areas. This increased urbanization – along with reductions in water supplies in parts of the valley – has generated concern for the future of farming throughout the valley. Issues of agricultural water supply, farmland preservation efforts and what they mean for farmers were explored in this issue of Western Water. Also included are the conclusions of two major federal studies about the future of farming.