“I want to make sure that every Californian knows … your country is going to be there for you when you need it this year,” President Barack Obama said to his audience on farmer Joe Del Bosque’s Los Banos farm on Feb. 14.

The much-anticipated and highly-reported event was brief, but the message was clear: President Obama would lead the way in aiding California and other Western states in finding a solution to the emergency drought.

With rhetoric revolving around ideas of small-town teamwork, praise of Californian ingenuity, and unfaltering nationwide support, Obama’s words as he stood in this hotspot of American produce were bold and bright.

But were they enough? Is any well-rehearsed speech ever enough to provide catharsis to a hurting economy, a devastated agricultural industry and an uninformed public of 38 million people?

President Obama’s trip to the Central Valley is an event to be celebrated and praised, yet it should not be the end of the discussion or of concerns on this very pressing topic.

On Jan. 17, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a State of Emergency proclamation in regards to the drought. Research shows that water levels are significantly lower than historical averages.

The Millerton Lake reservoir, for example, is filled to only 35 percent capacity despite its historical average being 53 percent, a California Department of Water Resources graph shows.

Millerton Lake is no exception; snowpack and river level data  show that both of these are below normal levels.

While the effects may not seem as damning to those of us who do not live in farming communities or in mountain towns accustomed to high snow levels, the statewide drought should still be taken very seriously.

In response to the extreme circumstances, President Obama and his administration have created organizations such as the National Drought Resilience Partnership, introduced in November of 2013, that will “help communities better prepare for droughts and reduce the impact of drought events on families and businesses,” a White House press release states.

Twenty million dollars in funding has also been made available by the United States Department of Agriculture for farmers, ranchers and other landowners to provide water conservation efforts.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 is also providing $100 million in funding as well as establishing a Livestock Forage Disaster Program which will provide monetary compensation to farmers and ranchers that have lost cattle due to drought or fire disasters.

The USDA is also granting $60 million to food banks for use in the already-existing Emergency Food Assistance Program.

What more is there to be done? For farming and ranching families, the answer may be unsatisfactory. Yet with the drought only being officially declared an emergency one month ago, the most probable course of action to take now is to simply wait and watch.

It can be tempting to blame someone – anyone – in situations where a billion-dollar industry is potentially being toppled, and water and food prices may consequently rise.

While the federal government, and the often-criticized Obama administration, are an easy target, Californians and other critics should not stray too far from our geographic boundaries.

Local and state governments have struggled for decades to reach agreements on water usage in the Golden State.

There lies a complicated and lengthy path ahead of California in a struggle that has not entirely fleshed itself out yet. What is known is that there are still ways to help in a time of crippling drought.

“This is going to be a very challenging situation for some time to come,” Obama said, while not forgetting that he was standing in a state forged by hard work and creativity.

“We know that we can innovate and meet this challenge, but we’ve got to start now,” he said.  “We can’t wait.”

California is one of the world’s leaders in innovation, creativity, progress and hard work. Considering the drought as a problem for only the farmers, the ranchers- the “other people”- divides us as a state.

Agriculture has been a foundation of California since our ranchero days- it is only fair that we support our greatest triumph even in its hardest times.

We may not all be directly affected by the drought just yet, but standing together during such a challenge is what truly epitomizes California and is what will continue to push us to success in the future.