One-third of the water irrigates thirsty crops of low value - alfalfa, cotton, rice - and pasture.

Eight of every 10 gallons of water in the state is used by farmers, much of it to grow thirsty crops like cotton and rice.

Sunset colors spilled into the small, winding creek that separated field from forest and provided water for the thirsty crops.

Now not even a trickle often remains at the river's mouth, the water having been captured by large dams and diverted for thirsty crops and human populations.

Alfalfa, sold as hay for cattle, is one of California's thirstiest crops.

Apart from cotton being a thirsty crop, the irrigation canals are very inefficient and much water is wasted.

"We're in pretty good shape," he said as he happily watched a thunderstorm drench the thirsty crops around his white frame home about 100 miles south of Chicago.

Leo Hickman: Some crops require water-hungry irrigation systems to thrive, but what is the thirstiest crop of all?

This was unusual because sugar and kalo are both thirsty crops.

Deep-rooted plants interspersed with shallow-rooted but thirsty crops could provide water to regions otherwise difficult to irrigate.