Voters defeat Proposition 9, the Peripheral Canal initiative, by a 3-2 margin. Floods swell the Tulare Lake bottom, drowning growers such as Salyer and Boswell in losses. Salyer officials say they and Boswell spent millions fighting the flood. Congress passes a reclamation reform act, limiting taxpayer-subsidized water rates to farms no larger than 960 acres. Farmers are given time to sell off excess land as federal officials struggle to write rules implementing the law.
Some farmers break holdings into trusts for relatives eligible for cheaper water.
Boswell's libel lawsuit is dismissed from court. In 1964, W.W. Boswell tours the cotton company's Corcoran facility with the reigning California Maid of Cotton. Courtesy the Corcoran Journal 1984 Fisher retires. James W. Boswell, son of J.G. II, succeeds him. The company branches into non-ag areas, such as residential developments in Walnut Creek, San Diego County and Colorado.