A Farmer in California

An Outsider on the Inside

Month: September 2016

Well Drilling In The San Joaquin Valley

September 27, 2016 / / 0 Comments
A well drilling rig in the San Joaquin Valley.

A well drilling rig in the San Joaquin Valley.

A recent article in the Sacramento Bee titled “Farmers say, ‘No apologies,’ as well drilling hits record levels in San Joaquin Valley” highlighted the rapid increase in groundwater wells drilled in the Central Valley of California. Over the past few years and continuing through current day, agricultural well drilling has occurred at a rapid rate with 905 agricultural wells reported dug in 2015 in Tulare County alone.

The reporters blame the recent passing of the Sustainable Groundwater Water Management Act as the cause of the uptick in well drilling. I couldn’t disagree more. Continue reading

Food Safety Modernization Act and Ag

September 27, 2016 / / 0 Comments
Sourced from Wikipedia.org

A close up Salmonella bacterial colony. Sourced from Wikipedia.org

Over the past few years, food safety recalls, and food related illnesses and deaths  take center stage in the media. Food-borne pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria persist in the environment and can easily contaminate food. Cooking foods thoroughly generally reduces (or kills) pathogens to a level that is safe to eat. However, the consumption of raw and pre-cut produce has increased the risk of consumer exposure.

In attempts to reduce the risk of food safety issues, the US Government and the Department of Agriculture developed and passed a regulation known as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Continue reading

Large Farms: Good for the Environment?

September 24, 2016 / / 0 Comments
A large rice farm in the Central Valley of California.

A large rice farm in the Central Valley of California.

I recently read the editorial titled “Why Factory Farms are Good For the Environment” from the New York Times. The author, Jayson Lusk, does a nice job outlining the various technological advances observed on large farms that have provided an increase in food production per acre on American Farms over the past 50 years. This includes the use of genetically modified crops which provided the ability to utilize no-till technologies and reduce soil erosion, the use of higher yielding genetic traits in annual crops, and adoption of precision ag technologies such as yield monitoring, sensors, variable rate fertilization, and drones. An interesting article. Continue reading

Urban Development: We Need Smarter City Planning

September 17, 2016 / / 0 Comments
The change in urbanized area from 1998-2015 for Modesto, CA. The city expanded about 0.85% in size annually over the 17 year period from an estimated 47 square miles to 54 square miles.

The change in urbanized area from 1998-2015 for Modesto, CA. The city expanded about 0.85% in size annually over the 17 year period from an estimated 47 square miles to 54 square miles.

The population of California is growing and urban development is increasing. According to the latest census, there are about 39.5 million people living within the Golden State. Population is growing around 0.8-0.9% per year, with the anticipation of reaching 40 million Californians by 2018. Migration from other States and Countries, births, and longer life spans are all contributing.

Although a large state in geographical size, this population growth has had a major impact on urbanization. According to the American Farmland Trust organization, there was a 40,000 acre increase in urban development from 2008-2010, with roughly 60% of developed land being considered to be on Prime Farm Ground. Not that much of a surprise considering that the largest cities in California are all on ground that produced high value fruit and vegetable crops (Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento, etc). Continue reading

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