A Farmer in California

An Outsider on the Inside

Years of Drought, Now Record Rain

February 12, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Rains make fields muddy, limiting orchard access. Driving on wet soils causes compaction, which impacts long term orchard productivity.

California, the land of extremes. Five years of drought and now unprecedented rain events that are leading to floods.  Truth be told, this is the way California has always worked. How else did we end up with several hundred feet of alluvial top soil in the Central Valley?

Never-the-less, the high amounts of rain are being felt everywhere. Fields are saturated preventing access, rivers and sloughs have breached their banks flooding towns and fields, mud slides have closed roads, and snow has blocked passes. We are expected to get another 1 inch or so of rain this week, bringing our total for the central part of the San Joaquin valley to around 200% of normal. I suspect that there will be much more rain to come.

These rains impact farming tremendously. It hinders the ability to harvest crops, makes it nearly impossible to perform orchard operations, increases  the  requirement of fungicides, and just makes one tired  of the mud. Simply stated, work is harder, slower, and  not as much fun. Of concern in my mind is the inability to winter sanitize and prune trees, which will impact the entire season’s operational practices and budget. Cleaning up our orchards in the winter reduces the overwintering populations of tree pests like Navel orangeworm, reduces worker injury by removing dead or diseased limbs, and provides the ability to apply compost to build our organic material.

Too much water also kills trees. Prolonged periods of saturated soils leads to root loss and tree decline. Trees that are within these areas often have stunted growth or die. Often, other diseases like Phytophthora then move in and kill the the struggling tree. If the rains continue, there is a good chance we will see a lot of trees die this coming spring.

I always get teased about why farmers talk so much about the weather. Many think it is because it is something they can not change. Although this is true, I believe that it is  due to how much it impacts every thing we do.

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

Conventional v/s Organic Agriculture

August 6, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Too many people think farming is black or white and that farming should be one way or the other. I find this shocking, especially since we live in a world of “gray.” One such topic is conventional v/s organic agriculture.2013-06-08 15.37.59

So what does it mean to be organic? Organic parcels must be certified to ensure that synthetic pesticides/fertilizers have not been applied within the past three years.  All pesticides/fertilizers that are applied (Yes, many -if not all-organic farmers apply pesticides) are either derived from biological products (e.g. manure, guano, Bacillus thuringiensis, compost tea) or mined from the Earth (copper sulfate, sulfur, etc.). Parcel and chemical certification is usually done through a third party group. In California, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) is a common certification program. The years prior to receiving certification (years 1-3) require the use of approved products and are considered transition years.

What about conventional farming? Essentially, the major difference is that pesticides/fertilizers used can be synthetic and the land does not require certification. Pesticides that are used – at least within California-are highly regulated in use and a recommendation must be written by a certified pest control adviser. Since most nitrogen is made through a chemical process known as the Haber-Bosch, these systems tend to have more nitrogen applied, but yield higher (although with a lower price).

I have worked with many farms over the past years, both organic and conventional. I have found challenges in both operations. Probably a distinctive difference was the amount of labor that it took to farm organically compared to conventional farming. Most of the labor was utilized to manage weeds and increased tractor passes. This drives up the production costs of organic farming, increasing food costs.  In contrast, in conventional systems, herbicides are relied on to help combat weeds (which reduces tillage), and insecticides tend to be more stable and targeted (reducing tractor passes) , reducing pest populations. and the associated damage.

Even though I consider myself mostly a conventional guy, I don’t have any issue with organic farmers.  I am happy that they have found a way for them to commit to a passion and enjoy farming.  I have enjoyed my experience working in various organic blocks and learning from some great farmers. From them I have learned how to reduce pesticide use, be more efficient with my resources, and produce beautiful crops…then again, I also learned that from my conventional farming father as well….

This is not a “we v/s they” as the media makes it out to be. This is a “we” as both farming systems work to produce food to feed the world.

Drought: A Small Farm Killer

April 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

It is not news that California is in its 4th year of a very serious drought. Lack of snow pack within the Sierra Nevada Mountains (lowest on record) indicates that minimal water will be flowing into the reservoirs. In response, severe water cut backs have been occurring in the State, Federal, and locally managed irrigation districts.2015-01-06 13.52.38

So what does it mean when a farmer received a reduced water allocation? Although pretty straight forward – it means that the farmer receives less surface water than what is normally provided from these projects. It is usually a percent reduction or fixed allocation (e.g. Turlock Irrigation District is delivering 18 inches this year). This doesn’t mean, however, that they aren’t able to utilize water from exchanges, open market, or from groundwater. Water from these routes can be bought or pumped if possible. Not all ground, however, has the ability to access water through these channels. For example, if the farm is located upstream, it is not possible – without a feat of engineering – to pump water against the flow of gravity. In this case, water can only be delivered if the farm is downstream from the source.  Continue reading

Poor City Planning: Blame the Farmer?

April 18, 2015 / / 0 Comments
Rio Mesa High School located int he middle of strawberry fields

Rio Mesa High School located in the middle of strawberry fields

I recently came across this article by the Center of Investigative Reporting. It highlighted the high usage of soil fumigants in strawberry fields that were close in proximity to Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, CA. According to reports of Telone-II usage (1,3-dichloropropene), a soil fumigant used to control fungal diseases and plant parasitic nematodes, over 750,000 lbs of fumigant was used in a township in which the school resides.  This is an area of high fumigant usage, and if applications are timed improperly, the children at the school would be exposed – so the concerns have merit.

In seeing this, my first questions was: “Why did they build a school in the middle of a field in the first place?”   Continue reading

America’s Economic Stimulus: Cheap Food

April 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

food close upBeing raised on a farm, my mother always told me that food is too cheap. As a child I would work hours picking strawberries, berries, and other fruit to sell at similar prices to the local supermarket. This would yield an hourly wage less than minimum wage once farm expenses were removed. This was depressing and thought we should charge more.

As I went through University and then moved out to start a career, I was thankful for low food prices. These low prices allowed me to eat a variety of foods and spend extra money on things that I wanted – a bicycle, gasoline, furniture for my apartment, etc. It also allowed me to save money for retirement and large purchases – which lead to the ability to save for my first house. Continue reading

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