You probably don’t need a steel frame. It should only be required if there is a concern about the load on the joist, so maybe if the hood sets under a bathtub or something. Quartzite is just not that heavy, it only seems heavy because it is rather thin. 2cm thick quartzite is about 12 lbs per square foot, which is really nothing significant. A wall cabinet with a typical load of plates and bowls will easily be more than that much and these days that is 1/2” plywood held to the wall with two to four #10 cabinet screws. A 36” stone hood in a room with 9’ ceilings is going to be about 312 lbs of stone… The shear rating of one 3/8” bolt is more than double that and I assure you, more than one will be used. The only real complication is the attachment of the frame to the joists or studs and that is going to require bolts in shear.

I think all ag products grown in California are irrigated so while water supplies from runoff and the need for aquifer recharging for ground water levels are affected by a particular year's snow and rainfall, product production shouldn't be as long as there's available water deliveries to the growing sites. Irrigated orchards may very well have alternating good and bad years if that's the normal cycle of the tree type, I wouldn't know. Orchards being long term investments, I suspect they get priority for water so that the trees don't die. Most row crops are annuals and don't need to be planted in any particular year if water supplies for the grower or field are limited. If you've had the otherwise monotonous experience of driving along Hwy 5, you've probably seen the signs visible at the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, near Grapevine - Food Grows Where Water Flows. On your comment, you might be amused to learn that using "the" in front of a highway number is much more common in SoCal than in NorCal, where the number can be used without a "the". I'm a SoCal native but moved north before the "the" came into vogue. I know LA freeways by name, not by numbers. It's easier for me, especially with instances of freeways with segments with different numbers. Or, the reverse, sections of the same Hwy number that are used for freeways of different names. Is "The 5" the San Diego Fwy, the Santa Ana Fwy, or the Golden State Fwy in SoCal? Of course you know the answer - it's all three! But not all of the San Diego Fwy is The 5, because part of it is The 405.

I don't know how may different ones now. I have about 20 different ones now. Some are tiny house plants sold in lots of stores now. Like the overseas hybrids; And the most popular house plants now; And this fancy hybrid with square leaves; All staying mostly small under one foot that can easily be kept as house plants. And there are those hardy to minus 10 below to keep in northern gardens. (must be kept dry thru winter).

Reminded me of the old story of a guy who had luggage that was fairly common, so to make sure his was distinguished, he put stickers all over it. While he was waiting for it to show up at the carousel, he saw a guy walking off with his bag. He went to the guy and said, "That's my bag!" And the guy said, "It is? Oh. I was wondering who put stickers all over my bag..."