Actually, if anything, I think the distinction is unfair in the other direction. Alfalfa is a lower value crop than almonds, true. However, as an annual, alfalfa comes to maturity relatively quickly, and doesn't require much in the way of ongoing water. As a farmer, if I plant alfalfa this year, it's very easy for me to sell the alfalfa and switch to something else next year when water prices go up.

Almond trees, on the other hand, require three to four years of water before they become mature enough to produce fruit. That means, as a farmer, if I choose to plant almonds, I'm locked in for the better part of a decade before I can recoup my investment. And yet, somehow, even in the middle of the longest running and most severe drought in California history, I read reports of farmers planting new almond trees, knowing full well that those trees are going to be sucking water for three to four years before they get even a single harvest. That's how confident these farmers are that the state of California is going bail them out with multi-billion dollar public works projects. And that's why I have no sympathy for them.