California slashes water use for upstate farmers

State officials announced major water cutbacks for Northern California farmers Friday, a historic step that could challenge claims the agriculture industry is getting a free pass during the state's epic drought.

The cutbacks will affect some of California's oldest water rights holders — farmers who laid claim to surface water more than a century ago — for the first time in four decades. They will not be allowed to draw water from the San Joaquin River, the Sacramento River and the delta that forms where the two rivers meet. State...