Link and a few of his bodyguards drove two pickup trucks around the Fairway Farm.

He was mainly aimed at the topography of the borders of the farm.

However, after he took a turn, he realized that the farm would cost more to fence it off. Because there is a county road that passes through the valley in the middle of the farm, and to the north it is connected to Highway 50. He did not have the authority to close the road.

If he wanted to raise livestock, he had to enclose the farm. Because of this road, Filvi Farm will be divided into east and west.

If he plans to raise livestock, but doesn't fence off the farm, there are coyote packs here. He didn't want to hear about the loss of his livestock as a result of wild animal attacks.

But if you want to raise livestock, you can grow crops. All need to have a premise. That's water. That is, Ben Stein's drilling can find water.

If he couldn't find it, he couldn't have used those contaminated dives to feed his livestock.

Looking at the ground, he also found that the surface here was not as unusable as he thought. Grazing is still possible, at least on the plateau between the eastern edge of the Fairway Mountains and the eastern border of the farm, another county road.

The groundwater here will not be contaminated by nuclear tests in the mountains to the west, and it may be possible to pump enough shallow groundwater for livestock to drink.

If pressurized water is not available, this highland is probably the most utilized place for the entire farm. Because the terrain is relatively flat and the altitude is relatively high, a large number of wind turbines will be built here, and grazing will also be allowed.

Perhaps, he could also build future workers' dormitories on this high ground.

Link and the others stood above a mound and looked at the relatively flat ground around them. Although the nuclear contamination on the surface of the farm is almost negligible. But the east side is safer than the west side.

Arrow pointed to the east and said, "Boss, there are two coyotes there!"

Link followed his hand and saw two dog-like animals about a mile away from them.

But they soon got back on the move. direction, apparently away from them.

Although there are relatively few animals in the desert, many are deadly. He thinks of scorpions, of rattlesnakes. The threat of poisons is sometimes even more frightening than that of carnivores.

He raised his fears.

Ari smiled and said: "Boss, you can rest assured, there are very few reports of scorpions in the American desert killing people." And the rattlesnake, in the vast majority of cases, before you get close to it, it leaves. The vast majority of venomous snakes would not be willing to waste venom on an animal destined to be impossible to swallow. ”

Link hadn't really heard that before. He was taught by adults from an early age not to approach snakes and so on. And in many TV shows and film and television works, people are always easy to encounter rattlesnakes.

In response, Ari said, "Unless you're driving, the snake will have plenty of time to avoid you before you spot it." Because their abdomen can sense the shaking of the ground. The rattlesnakes filmed in the movie are usually freshly released, and they can't leave in time, they can only wag their tails to warn, as long as you don't get close to it, it won't take the initiative to attack people. Of course, some snakes with a strong sense of territory will also take the initiative to attack any animal. Those are the most dangerous snakes. ”

"There shouldn't be many rattlesnakes!"

"In the desert, there is very little food. So boss, you have to be lucky to meet a rattlesnake. ”

They were back at camp before dark, and Link had no intention of leaving it tonight.

They pitched their tents as far away from the well as they could and spent the night. The next day, they spent most of the day wandering around the farm before taking a flight back to Hans's farm.

He met Benjamin outside the villa before he even entered the door.

He asked, "Did something happen? Is it the crew?"

"Everything went well with the crew and they were well prepared. Benjamin said with concern on his face. "I think we also need to do some preparation for the farm in advance to deal with the next drought. ”

Link stopped and said, "Drought? We're a desert here, isn't it normal to have a drought?"

"But this drought is not just a desert, it's a great drought that could affect twenty states in the west and center. ”

Link knew that there had been several severe droughts in the Midwest. In the western United States, droughts are not uncommon. And if it doesn't happen once, it could be "the worst drought in years." But he wasn't too impressed by the drought.

The southwest of the United States is almost all desert, and it is already very arid, so the impact of drought on this place is not as great as imagined. But the point is that they usually get enough water because rainwater from other areas brings them water through rivers or through artificial canals.

For example, almost all of California's agriculture is developed by relying on water from the Coulee Dam in Oregon, while Nedawa relies on Lake Mead. In the event of a severe drought, the need for water in the states can intensify competition for the allocation of water rights.

And his Hans Farm is right on the edge of Lake Mead. In recent years, the water level in Lake Mead has been declining. Administrators restricted water intake from Lake Mead several years ago. In the event of a drought, he could be barred from drawing water from Lake Mead. More than 70 percent of Hanse Farm's water is pumped from Lake Mead. As for the amount of groundwater, he has reached the limit.

If that happens, Hans's farm will really be wiped out.

He said, "Let's go to the study and talk. ”

When Hannah saw him, she pestered him. He had to bring the little things to the study, anyway, she was still very sensible, and she never made trouble when he talked to others.

When he got to the study, Link sat Benjamin down.

Benjamin's concern was even greater, saying: "Last night, the news broadcast a drought warning from the Met Office. Say the west and central are likely to be in drought this year. In the first four months of this year, not a single drop of rain has fallen in these places. Last year's bitter cold was cold, but in the Midwest, the cold didn't bring enough snow. ”

Link also remembered that the bitter cold that began at the end of last year did only snowfall more in the eastern and northwest corners. And the Midwestern states are also cold though. But I haven't heard of any blizzards.

If there is a real drought, Hanova Farm will also be in trouble. Surface water there will be reduced by drought. Groundwater may supply drinking water for cattle, but drought will reduce the pasture's ability to produce grass. Hanova Farms had to adjust the number of cattle.

Agricultural development at Baker Farms may also be delayed.

"What do you think?"

"Unless new water rights can be found. Otherwise, we will have to give up something during the drought. For example, farming, and pastures. ”

The largest use of water on Hanse's farm is the irrigation of pastures. Although irrigation is only done once a week and the amount of water used for each irrigation is not very large, the pastures are the largest and use much more water per unit area than the drip irrigation vineyards used.

"Will the fishing grounds be affected?"

"If the lake is not pumped out, the impact on the fishing grounds will not be very large. The evaporation of the water surface can be replenished with groundwater at regular intervals. The water from the fishery can be recycled. I think I can plan well. ”

Link nodded and said, "Since we can't do anything now." Then you plan for drought. Look at those things that need to be abandoned. Try to minimize losses. ”

"I understand. But if we give up some business, maybe we need to lay off employees!"

"We'll talk about that then!" Link didn't want to talk about. He doesn't want to lay off employees unless he has to.

Over the next month, the U.S. Weather Service issued drought warnings from multiple sources. Jeff was worried because he still had fresh memories of the last drought. Several western states in the United States have lost nearly $10 billion in direct agricultural losses due to drought that has lasted for several years. A large number of large farms were sold and small farms went bankrupt.

Several of Link's large farms are threatened by drought. He specifically asked Link for advice: at Hans Farm, only grow grapes. All other agriculture was abandoned. And Hanova temporarily reduced the number of cattle. Water sources are prioritized for grape growing.

Hanova Farms is the only farm that has no plans to install wind turbines because of the potential drought, and if it weren't for Link's interest in the grapes, he would even suggest that Link sell Hanova Farm.

Among the several large farms, Hanova Farm is the one with the most surface water rights outside of Ozette Farm. But it's still an arid region. That amount of surface water rights would not be enough to sustain a 100,000-acre farm under a drought.

Link is also campaigning to prevent drought. He first went to Hanova and talked to Bob about measures to prevent drought.

Bob has experienced droughts and has some experience: "If there is a prolonged drought, the Canadians will definitely not have enough water rights in the river, and in times of drought, the river will be less water, or even dry up." And those small rivers and streams on the farms to the south may dry up. I would suggest digging a few more deep wells in the south. There are a few more on the north side, too. The water in the reservoir may not last long, and if there is not enough water, the vineyards will be threatened by drought. ”

Link followed his advice, told him to make a plan, and then went to contact the drilling team.

And Ozette needs him too. A total of 5,000 calves were replenished there this month. The work there started to get busy, because there was no person in charge, and if anything happened, he had to deal with it personally. If the call can't be handled, he can only fly over.

The drought has also affected Las Vegas, especially those casinos.

Because of the impending drought, Lake Mead's management has notified Las Vegas that they will cut its water supply until the drought is over. From 300 million gallons per day, it has dropped to 150 million gallons.

The Las Vegas government can only ask casinos to conserve water. This can have a big impact on casinos, especially those with lots of pools and lots of green spaces.

The business of the casino is not just a gambling hall, but to attract people with various play facilities, so that some of them stay and gamble for money. Without those green spaces and swimming pools, it would be difficult for the casino to attract visitors.

MGM even held a board of directors specifically for the matter.

Link also went to participate.