Sushi eaters could face sticker shock the next time they order a California roll or check the box for another round of yellowtail nigiri. 
 
 Thanks to the historic drought in California, prices may spike for the specialty rice used in the popular Japanese dish. Production of the rice, which is grown primarily in the Golden State, is expected to drop by 25 percent this year. 
 
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 California — and the Sacramento Valley in particular — is the nation’s primary source for the high-quality short- and medium-grain rice used in sushi and is a major supplier of the rice for other countries, too. But the state’s 2,500 rice growers this year planted just 420,000 acres, about a quarter fewer than usual, because farmers weren’t allowed to use water for more, according to the California Rice Commission. 
 
 California farmers are beholden to a patchwork of local, state and federal water sources that distribute their annual water supply. More and more farmers are getting less or even no water allocations as the drought drags through its third year. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Drought, disease and bacon cheeseburgers) 
 
 “The biggest challenge is simply not enough rain and snowfall for multiple years, coupled with all of the demand from the most urban and top [farming] state in the U.S.,” California Rice Commission spokesman Jim Morris said. “Being in charge of the water allocations is a tough job right now: precious little water and many areas of need in our state.” 
 
 The drought has taken its toll on the vast majority of farmers in the country’s largest agriculture state. About a half-million acres that would normally be producing fruits and vegetables this year won’t be planted, according to the California Farm Bureau Federation. 
 
 A huge chunk of the state, including its largest produce regions, continues to experience what government meteorologists consider “exceptional drought” conditions — the worst possible category that can be assigned by the USDA’s National Drought Mitigation Center. Most of the rest of the state is considered to be in either “extreme drought” or “severe drought.” 
 
 Congressional staffers are reportedly working behind the scenes to reach a compromise on House and Senate bills aimed at providing relief from California’s drought. 
 
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 But any changes will be too late to affect the 2014 rice market. As the harvest is set to finish in October, production could be down by more than a billion pounds, Morris said. 
 
 Growers in the Yuba City-based California Rice Marketers cooperative — a group of six rice farms that normally plant on 2,000 acres — may not feel too much pain. They planted less this year but hope to see their prices go up from the roughly $20 per hundredweight they received in 2013 to as much as $24, General Manager Kevin Keeley said. 
 
 And California Heritage Mills, a Colusa County rice mill owned by 15 farmers, can expect something of a windfall. The three-year old co-op planted all its acres this year and also hopes to get a better price, said Guy Gomes, the company’s sales and marketing director. 
 
 The real pain will be felt at sushi restaurants. They will continue to serve their usual fare of spicy tuna rolls, California rolls and yellowtail rolls, but soon they’ll have to make a decision about whether to pass on the expected added cost of their product or see a reduction in profit margins, said California Restaurant Association spokeswoman Angie Pappas. 
 
 Nobody knows yet how much those costs, and the price of rice for consumers in general, will rise. 
 
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 “There’s only a harvest once a year and the majority of [sushi rice] comes from California,” Pappas said. “Everyone’s still in a wait-and-see mode to see how much the prices go up, but then you’re going to definitely see some price-tweaking.” 
 
 Daniel Sumner, director of the University of California’s Agricultural Issues Center, said that so far he expects only small price increases on Japanese restaurant menus. 
 
 Overall, the sharp reduction in California rice planting “is going to show up in higher prices,” he said. “There’s no question about it.” 
 
 Hissho Sushi, a Charlotte, N.C., company that trains chefs for sushi bars throughout the U.S., is bracing for the higher prices, too. 
 
 Spokeswoman Andrea Lee said the company’s California supplier “is already factoring in price increases due to the drought situation during the past several months. … It’s a huge challenge to anticipate and plan ahead for the unforeseen. Over 50 percent of our sushi rice is directly impacted by this drought, as are the ensuing price changes and supply.” 
 
 While California rice may be in short supply, rice growers in other parts of the country are expecting a bumper crop. In fact, overall rice production in the U.S. is expected to increase by as much as 21 percent this year, according to the latest Department of Agriculture forecast. 
 
 Farmers in Arkansas, Louisiana and elsewhere in the South have historically grown long-grain rice, but these states have begun ramping up production of medium-grain in recent years. 
 
 However, sushi chefs are prejudiced in favor of the California variety, said Morris. Farmers there grow special varieties of Japonica rice that make the state the only source for Japanese importers, he said. It’s perceived as tasting better and having a better mouth feel. 
 
 There are certainly some export customers that may be willing to take Southern medium-grain rice in lieu of the California product, said Chuck Wilson, director of the University of Arkansas’ Rice Research and Extension Center, but he doubts sushi restaurants in the U.S. are ready to make the switch. 
 
 And that’s what has rice grower Keeley most concerned. 
 
 “What I’m worried about is: How high does the price go, and does that start driving demand away? If the price gets too high, does the end user start going to substitute products or maybe an inferior rice?” ||||| California drought: Gov. Jerry Brown urges 20% cuts Governor urges 20% cuts in usage, pledges to steer water where needed 
 
 Gov. Jerry Brown's drought declaration on Friday won't bring rain to a state parched by three dry years. But communities, farmers and firefighters wrestling with the lack of rainfall are welcoming the order as a chance to better capitalize on the state's limited water supplies. 
 
 Brown committed to using his executive powers to steer water where it's most needed, direct state agencies to immediately scale back water consumption and seek the help of the federal government in combatting what he called "the worst drought that California has ever seen since records (began) about 100 years ago." 
 
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 Perhaps more importantly, the governor called on Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent, a plea that water experts say has proved effective in past periods of dry weather. He noted that mandatory restrictions could be coming soon. 
 
 "This is a critical step for the state amid this crisis," said Timothy Quinn, executive director for the Association of California Water Agencies, which represents dozens of water districts statewide. "One of the most important things that you have to have happen is that people need to use less water, and there's nothing more powerful than a governor declaring an emergency." 
 
 The declaration, announced at a news conference at the governor's San Francisco office, comes as the state is gripped by its third straight year of below-average rainfall with little improvement expected. 
 
 Emergency steps in place 
 
 Rivers are running low. The snowpack is meager. And communities across California are worried about having sufficient water for homes, businesses and farmland. The dry weather also has increased the wildfire threat, with record acreage burning this month, including a 1,700-acre blaze that continues to char the hills above Los Angeles. 
 
 With the emergency declaration, Brown set in place 20 steps to deal with the drought. Water agencies will be able to share water more easily. State water managers will kick off a statewide conservation campaign. And additional firefighters will be hired to protect California's parched landscape. 
 
 The governor also said he will petition the federal government for assistance, which could take the form of monetary aid or helping with water transfers. 
 
 "We are in an unprecedented and very serious situation," Brown said, as he stood beside charts highlighting the deteriorating water situation. "It's important to awaken all Californians to the serious matter of drought and the lack of rain." 
 
 Friday's declaration is the third statewide drought declaration since 1987, the previous coming during the 2007-09 drought. 
 
 Lawmakers were generally pleased by the proclamation. 
 
 "This is a huge step forward in making sure we are using our water resources appropriately," said state Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, whose district includes parts of the Central Valley, where farmers have borne the brunt of the dry weather and pushed for the declaration. 
 
 Many in Sacramento said the drought should be a call to action for Californians about the need for a water bond. Lawmakers, citing low voter-approval numbers, have twice pulled an $11 billion water bond from the ballot that seeks a range of new projects, including partial funding for a major water-delivery upgrade in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. 
 
 Ballot measure discussed 
 
 Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, said it would be "irresponsible" to put the current water bond on the November ballot because it doesn't have the backing. But Perez said a more affordable bond should be negotiated. 
 
 The governor, when asked Friday about a water bond, said the state needed to improve its water infrastructure but stopped short of committing to a ballot measure. 
 
 This month, most of California has seen little or no rainfall. The dry spell follows a record-dry 2013 in much of the state, and climate models suggest rain will remain scant through April, setting up California for its third straight dry winter. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Sierra Nevada snowpack, vital to filling the state's sprawling system of reservoirs, measured just 17 percent of normal this week. 
 
 A few water agencies have imposed restrictions on consumers, while others - including some in the Bay Area - are asking for voluntary water reductions. Sacramento is the biggest community to enact requirements so far, ordering consumers Tuesday to scale back water use by 20 to 30 percent. 
 
 Few areas are threatened as much as the Central Valley, where farmers dependent on state and federal water allocations face among their lowest allotments in years. 
 
 "We're looking at just a huge amount of land going unplanted," said Gayle Holman, spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District, one of the nation's largest agricultural districts. "And I don't think we've seen the full effect of it yet." 
 
 Holman praised the governor's decision to declare a drought as an opportunity to streamline water transfers. She said she hopes it will lead to the easing of certain environmental rules, particularly limits that have been put on water diversion to protect salmon and delta smelt. 
 
 Federal support 
 
 Federal officials offered some support to the agricultural industry Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated as natural disaster areas 27 of California's 58 counties - along with portions of 10 other states - because of the drought, which means farmers can get emergency, low-interest loans. 
 
 Projections released Friday from the National Weather Service offer some hope of rain at the end of January, but forecasters note that it might not be enough to make up for lost ground.
– Extreme drought conditions in California have caused residents to face government fines, paint their lawns, and stress about their beloved giant sequoias. Now the whole country might be joining in the state's water woes: Production of the special rice used in sushi, grown mainly in California, is set to decline by 25% in 2014 because farmers were limited to how many acres they could adequately water, Politico reports. Translation for the rest of us—sushi restaurants are going to have to decide whether to take the financial hit themselves or ask customers to pay higher prices for their tempura, tuna, and Tijuana rolls, according to a California Restaurant Association spokeswoman. Most of the state is high and dry, categorized as being in "exceptional," "extreme," or "severe" drought conditions, the United States Drought Monitor indicates. A California Rice Commission spokesman says rice production could be down by more than a billion pounds, as per Politico, affecting restaurants and even schools that train sushi chefs. Rice is thriving in other parts of the country—overall rice production will be up 21% this year, according to AGWeb.com—but chefs are partial to the short-grain Japonica rice typically used in sushi dishes. Still, one general manager of a California rice co-operative worries, via Politico: "If the price gets too high, does the end user start going to substitute products or maybe an inferior rice?"