(SCPR) - California wine industry represantatives and state politicians met Monday to discuss ways to mitigate the affects of the drought and consider other issues affecting winemakers.

Among some of the issues covered at the hearing: sustainable farming, water conservation and housing for farmworkers.

State Assemblyman Bill Dodd, chairman of the Assembly's select committee on wine, and California Senator Lois Wolk, who heads the Senate committee on wine, lead a joint session at Sonoma State University with industry executives and experts. 

One big concern: California's four-year drought.

Farmers have had to adjust to changing environmental conditions, Dodd told KPCC, including finding new ways to grow grapes with less water.

"More and more growers are trying to do dry farming," he said. "They're changing their technique. That also adds impacts on their yield and their quality, so they're working through many different strategies." 

The discussion also touched on another important issue for the industry: farmworkers and farmworker housing. There is a need to find better ways to house single farmworkers as well as those who bring families, Dodd said.

To date, he added, Napa County winemakers pay $10 per every acre in taxes every year to help pay for farmworker housing.

"The state pays nothing," Dodd said, "yet the state pays about 90 percent of [housing] funds for row crops in other areas."

There were also concerns about U.S. immigration policy. Fewer farmworkers are available to pick grapes due to the "clamping down on the borders and concerns with hiring undocumented workers," Dodd said.  Without a steady workforce of farmworkers, California farmers are having trouble growing enough grapes to make wine, he added.