Ag Alert Mar. 23, 2022

Ag Alert is the newspaper of the California Farm Bureau Federation, reaching Farm Bureau agricultural and collegiate members. Agricultural members are owners and decision-makers on California farms and ranches. The California Farm Bureau Federation is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the state of California and to find solutions to the problems of the farm, the farm home and the rural community. Farm Bureau is California's largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus. Farm Bureau strives to protect and improve the ability of farmers and ranchers engaged in production agriculture to provide a reliable supply of food and fiber through responsible stewardship of California's resources.

Orchard recycling Practice helps soil and air quality

Ag Alert returns April 6 Ag Aler t® publ ishes 46 t imes a year and wi l l be on hiatus next week (March 30) . Our next issue will be published April 6. In the meantime, please check the California Farm Bureau Facebook and Twitter feeds, and the Ag Alert and California Farm Bureau websites at www.agalert.com and www.cfbf.com, for breaking news.

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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com MARCH 23, 2022

Trees & Vines ® Dairy & Livestock ®

s p e c i a l r e p o r t s

Johansson urges action to achieve water promises

ByChing Lee AsCalifornia farmers and ranchers face another year of drought and cutbacks in water deliveries, a page out of history served as a re- minder that thestate’swater

problems remain urgent—and that their voices are neededmore than ever topress for legislative action. Reading from the state’s first water plan—also known as Bulletin No. 3— California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johanssonpointedtohowissuesdescribed in the1957 report couldhavebeenwritten today: “The bulk of the waters of the state do not occur where they are needed and are not actually available when they are needed,” the plan said. “This is nothing new,” Johansson said. “What is new is howwe deal with it.” Hemadehis remarks inpreparingFarm Bureau leaders for meetings with legisla- tors later in theday (see story, Page1). The meetings lastweekwereheldaspart of the 2022 California Farm Bureau Capitol Ag Conference, whichmarked the beginning of the legislative year. Johansson said the state used to follow through on its water plans with statutes every five years to address problems. That included building the StateWater Project. “It didn’t stopwitha report likewedid in 2018,” Johansson said. “They took action.” Even with the threat of climate change, Johansson noted that multiyear droughts arenotnewandhaveoccurred“60%of our 100years inagriculturehere inCalifornia.” “This is the California experience and has been for over a hundred years,” he said. “Howwe deal with it and the resolve is what is lacking. We have always had the resolve to dowhat’s right for this state and our water supply, even when we’re ada- mantly opposed to it.” He pointed to the 2014 passage of Proposition 1, the $7.5 billion state water bond, whichauthorized funding forwater See JOHANSSON, Page 13

A message to lawmakers: ‘Hear our story’ Mendocino County forester Estelle Clifton, right, discusses forestry issues with Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, left, during the Capitol Ag Conference. Some 130 Farm Bureau members and representatives from 33 legislative offices gathered to discuss key matters affecting agriculture.

ByKevinHecteman

our story,” Wirz said. “That’s the reason I took time off from what I do every day to come here.” Farm Bureau’s annual Capitol Ag Conference—canceled in 2020 and held online in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic—returnedtoitsregularprogram- mingMarch 15, with one twist. With legis- lative offices still closed to the public, Farm Bureauinvitedlegislatorsandtheirstaffstoa restaurantacrossthestreet fromtheCapitol. Some 130 Farm Bureau members and

33 legislative offices participated in the day’s events. “Making connections and telling our story is critical for the success of ourmem- bers,” saidStevenFenaroli, CaliforniaFarm Bureau’s political affairs director. “Having theabilitytointeractonapersonal leveland let legislators know the issues farmers and ranchers are facing daily is the best way to accomplishchangeinthepoliticalprocess.”

Pat Wirz saw a chance to dosomethingimportantand ran with it. The San Benito County cattle rancher and winegrape grower dropped everything for a couple of

days and traveled to Sacramento tomeet withAssemblymembersandstatesenators. “If agriculture’s going to go forward in the state, our legislators need to hear

See LEADERS, Page 15

n e w s p a p e r

Comment.......................................2 Trees & Vines........................... 7-8 Dairy & Livestock............... 17-18 Classifieds........................... 25-27 Inside

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For three generations, FFA guided farming family ByBrielleProck

legacy until the day my brother, Bryson, tried on his FFA jacket for sizing. Then he knew it ran in the family. “It hitme that Iwouldget toseebothmy children wear the same chapter on their jackets,” he said. My brother was soon to join FFA. My mother, Erica Prock, a teacher at Denair Elementary State Preschool, started her FFA journey at ElkGroveHigh School where shemet my father. She told me, “ThroughFFA, Imade lifelong friend- ships anddeveloped life skills that allowed me to be the best that I couldbe.” She said she is proud of her children and their FFA “accomplishments and leadership skills that will enable eachof themtopave their own pathways for their futures.” The accomplishments include those of my brother Bryson, who joinedDenair FFA and went on to earn the American FFA degree. Through his high school years, Bryson was very involved in agri- cultural mechanics and welding classes at Denair High School, getting hands-on learning for his future in agriculture. “The harder I worked in FFA, the luck- ier I became,” Bryson toldme. Reflecting on my journey in the blue jacket, I wouldn’t trade the relation- ships, life lessons and experiences I gained for anything. I hope to attend law school with the intent to become an agricultural lawyer or lobbyist and eventually run my own agricultural law firm. To close out my FFA journey, I will come together with many, many FFA members in Sacramento, as we share our aspirations and celebrate the future of American agriculture. (BrielleProck isa freshmanatOklahoma StateUniversity and the 2020-21 president of the FFA Chapter in Denair. She may be contacted at brielle.prock@gmail.com.)

I was born into FFA. I come from a third-generation dairy farm family, in which one gener- ation after anoth- er—a grandfather, uncles, cousins, my father, mother, brother and now me—have l i ved theFFAexperience as we bui l t our lives inagriculture. For us, FFA i s more than an organization. It’s a family thing, a legacy. Brielle Prock Starting this weekend, I will celebrate that legacy as I attend the 2022 California FFA State Leadership Conference in Sacramento.More than7,000high school students, advisors and guests are expect- ed at the March 26-29 gathering. I’mcurrently a freshman at Oklahoma State University, working toward a dual degree in agribusiness and agricultural communications. I arrived there after graduating from Denair High School in Stanislaus County, where I was the sixth member of the Prock family to have the honor of being president of the Denair FFA chapter. FFA has allowed me to create my own path, to step outside of my comfort zone and participate in special projects, lead- ership conferences and career-devel- opment events as I work to receive my American FFA Degree. The California FFA dates to October 1928, when a meet ing to form the CaliforniaAssociationof theFutureFamers of America was held in Oakland. In the nearly 94 years since, the organization has enrichedstudentexperiencesandaddedto their growth, thanks to dedicated families,

Ray Prock Jr. and wife Erica, center, with children Bryson and Brielle, are the second and third generations of the family that went on to wear the FFA jacket.

communities and—most of all—teachers. My grandfather, Ray Prock Sr., started my family’s legacy in FFA. He enrolled in anagriculture class at Galt HighSchool in SacramentoCounty during his freshman year. He had no background in farming but said “FFA provided that education and hands-on learning” that inspired himon the way. My grandfather went on to receive his state FFA Degree and even got to serve as a delegate at a famous California State FFA convention that I read about in my agriculture class during my high school freshman year. In 1969, there was a vote to allow women into California FFA. My grandfather voted “yes.” Two generat ions later, he would watch his granddaughter shape her own FFA journey. FFA inspired my grandfather to start Ray-Lin Dairy in Galt with my grand-

mother, Linda Prock, in 1972. He later called it a gift fromGod to be able to raise a family in agriculture. My father, Ray Prock Jr., the eldest of five sons, moved with the family when Ray-Lin Dairy located to Denair fromElk Grove. There, my dad joined the Denair FFAChapter after starting inElkGrove.He went on to earnhis AmericanFFAdegree, the highest honor in the national FFA. These days, my dad is awestern region equipment sales specialist at GEA Farm Technologies, president of the Denair Unified School District Board of Trustees and a former treasurer of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. He supports numerous agricultural ini- tiatives, including helping raisemoney to give FFAmembers opportunities to grow their leadership skills and achieve their goals in agriculture. He told me he didn’t think of FFA as a

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2 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

State deepens water supply cuts as drought continues

Project by $25 million. That corrects a funding shortfall from2018. In addition, the commission also voted toadjust theeligibility fundingamountsof all existingprojects toaccount for inflation at approximately 1.5%. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week invi ted the Si tes Project Authority to apply for a $2.2 bil- lion low-interest loan through the Water InfrastructureFinanceandInnovationAct. That could bring the project, planned for north of Sacramento, significantly closer to construction.

“The significance of this opportunity cannot be overstated,” said Fritz Durst, chairman of the Sites Project Authority. “We thank our federal partners and the Biden administration for supporting Sites Reservoir in such ameaningful way.” A loan through the WIFIA program could significantly reduce the costs to participants, making it more affordable for cities, farms and resourcemanagers to have increasedwater access in dry years. (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

ByChristine Souza The California Department of Water Resources is cutting its water allocation for the State Water Project to 5%—down fromitsearlierpromisedallotment of 15%. The agency cited dropping reser- voir levels and reduced snowpack amid California’s continuing drought. The March 18 announcement marked another setback for farmers and others who rely on state surface-water supplies. “Farmers and ranchers are themost re- silientgroupofpeopleIknow,but this third year of Mother Nature’s drought coupled withthestate-imposedregulatorydrought iscutting tothebone,”saidDannyMerkley, California FarmBureau director of water resources. “State regulators need to find a balance to their decisions for all beneficial uses of water: the environment, human health and healthful, locally grown food and farmproducts.” DWRDirectorKarlaNemethsaid theal- locationwasreducedduetothehistorically dry JanuaryandFebruary, andbecauseno significant storms are forecast forMarch. Inaddition,DWRsaid itplans toprovide anyunmet critical healthandsafetyneeds for the 29 water agencies that contract to receive State Water Project supplies. Statewide reservoir levels are about 70% of average, and the statewide Sierra snow- pack has fallen to 55%of average. DWR said it will preserve as much stor- age as possible in Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir. Water releases fromLake Oroville will be priori- tized tomaintain delta water quality, pro- tect endangered species andmeet senior water-right needs. The agency’s next assessment of the State Water Project allocation will follow the next snow survey on April 1. A final allocation for the water year is typically announced inMay or June. With hopes of sufficient rainfall fading, the California Water Commission last week approved a proposed work plan to develop long-termstrategies formanaging a sustained drought in the state. The work plan includes a proposed set of investmentsandpolicies thatwouldbet- ter position the state to manage severely constrained water supplies for at least six consecutive years. It also makes recom- mendations to protect communities, fish andwildlife in long-termdry conditions. Laura Jensen, Ca l i forni a Water Commission assistant executive officer, provided an overview of the work plan, which she said focuses on research, out- reach and a white paper, which will offer guidance through the drought crisis. She said the document will be provided totheCaliforniaEnvironmentalProtection Agency and Natural Resources Agency. Jensen said staff will engage with repre- sentatives fromother countries that have experienceddrought, includingAustralia, SouthAfrica and Israel. In a separate action, the commission in- creasedpotentialfundingamountsforseven water-storage projects ranked through the

WaterStorageInvestmentProgram, thepro- cess for ranking projects and determining eligibility of funding public benefits under Proposition1, passedbyvoters in2014. This month, with approximately $64 millioninavailable fundingremaining, the commission voted to increase the poten- tial fundingamount for theSitesReservoir

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March 23, 2022 Ag Alert 3

State climate official praises sustainability efforts ByChristine Souza

“We have taken great pains in the course of the last year or so to make sure that nature-based solutions are really in- tegrated into our approach on climate,” Hansen said. “That was a direct result of the governor’s executive order in the fall of 2020, really calling on us to deliver more climate action through theway that we manage our lands.” In addition, she said the state has al- most completed an extreme-heat action plan that includes nature-based solu- tions as one of four pillars of action to support climate efforts that address ex- treme heat. FollowingHansen’s presentation, con- versationandquestions quickly turned to the state’s Pathways to 30x30 document, which lays out a vision for conserving 30% of the state’s lands and coastal wa- ters by 2030. Nevada County rancher Brad Fowler asked Hansen to elaborate on whether agriculture is included in the land pres- ervation goal in the 30x30 draft plan. Mendocino County forester George Hollister asked the same related to the forestry business. She explained that the 30x30 plan has three objectives: protecting biodi- versity, addressing climate change and increasing access to nature, adding,

California is gearing up to be more resilient to cli- mate change. In response to state legis- lation and executive orders by Gov. Gavin Newsom,

state agencies have developed plans that involve setting goals and strategies to achieve long-term climate resiliency. “California is already a leader in this space,”AmandaHansen,CaliforniaNatural ResourcesAgencydeputy secretary for cli- mate change, told farmers, ranchers and county FarmBureau staff last week. In her appearance at the California Farm Bureau Capitol Ag Conference in Sacramento, she offered insights on state efforts to address climate change and praised initiatives already under- way in agriculture. “We are really proud to have so many innovators across the state, so many farmers and ranchers that are undertak- ing climate-smart agricultural practices that are supporting water resilience that are dedicated to protecting biodiversity,” Hansen said. Hansen described the state’s two overarching climate-change plans. One is a scoping plan that includes a suite of policies to help the state achieve its tar- gets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

During the discussion on climate, Lake County farmer Daniel Suenram emphasizes voluntary efforts and practices by California farmers and ranchers to manage the land they farm.

and carbon neutrality by mid-century. The other is California’s Climate Smart Strategy, which outlines key climate re- silience priorities. The climate strategy includes specif- ic and measurable steps and serves as a framework for action across sectors and regions in California. The adap- tation strategy, Hansen said, includes about 150 actions that identify what

the state is doing related to climate. Hansen explained the state’s Natural Working Lands Climate-Smart Strategy document includes a comprehensive and results-oriented, nature-based solutions agenda. It calls for accelerat- ed use of nature-based solutions, such as improving public health and safety, securing food and water supplies, and increasing equity.

See CLIMATE, Page 16

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4 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

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Dairy uncertainty unlikely to ebb soon, report finds Volatility loves uncertainty, and there is no shortage of uncertainty in global dairy markets, according to a new report fromRabobank. heavily, “but a major supply response is unlikely,” the report said.

ZERO ZIP decline inmilk production before “amild recovery” in the second half of the year. Milk prices, like other commodity pric- es, have trendedhigherworldwide.Higher milk prices usually encourage farmers to producemoremilk. But rising production costs, labor shortages, unfavorableweath- er, andvariable feedqualityandpriceswill limitmilk production. Highermilkprices could stopU.S. dairy farmers from culling their herds more

Webinar set on mill assessment The CaliforniaDepartment of Pesticide Regulation will hold a webinar March 30 on a study to review the current mill as- sessment onpesticide products. Thismay include implementing a tiered-fee system or an increase to themill assessment. The mill assessment is a fee levied on registered pesticides at their first point of sale in California. The mill assessment, currently set at 21—or 2.1 cents per dollar of sales—supports thestate’spesticide reg- ulatory program. Under the2021-22 statebudget process, the DPR proposed to increase the assess- ment asmuchas4.5centsperdollarof sale and tier it basedonaproduct’s level of tox- icity.Theagencyarguedthat themillhasn’t been raised in 17 years. It requested an additional 44 positions to be funded with revenue fromthe proposed fee increase. The increase was opposed by agricul- tureandwasn’t adopted.ButDPRreceived funds to contract with the Sacramento of- fices of the Crowe LLC public accounting firmto conduct a study on themill assess- ment andmake recommendations. TheDPRsaidthewebinarwill introduce the Crowe study team, offer a timeline for the project and present details on how in- dividualsandstakeholders canparticipate in the process. A Zoom link to attend the 10 a.m. live webinar may be found at cdpr.ca.gov/ docs/mill/mill_assessment_study.htm. Arecordingwill alsobemade availableon the stateDPR’s YouTube page. cooperativesandprocessorstomanagemilk supplies. These programs could be due to limitedprocessingcapacitybecauseofplant staffingshortagesorlimitedhaulingbecause of driver shortages, the reportnoted. Environmental pressures, labor chal- lengesandongoing inflationcostsalsowill keep U.S. milk production flat or slightly negative through the first half of the year, the bank added. Negativegrowth inU.S.milkproduction would reduce exportable surplus and po- tentially liftmarkets, the report said. Demand for milk and dairy products should rebound more strongly as food service returns from pandemic-related disruptions, Rabobank said. Even though inflationonmilkanddairy productspostedoneof the lowest increas- es, the report warned that “the pain from inflationarypressures couldbecomemore acute this year for consumers, and price sensitivitywill needtobewatched for signs of demand erosion.” Port congestion continues to affect U.S. dairy exports, which dropped 3% in December during peak shipping season. But the bank noted U.S. dairy exports fin- ished last year up11%onproduct volume. Evenwith port congestion improving, the bank warned that “elevated costs and de- lays are likely to remaina factor tocontend with in 2022.”

That’s because U.S. dairies face some additional barriers that could hinder ex- pansion, the bank said. OneislowerU.S.inventoryofreplacement heifers.Some2.84millionreplacementheif- ersareexpectedtocalve thisyear,down3%, according to a January report fromtheU.S. Department of Agriculture. Other limiting factorsare“base”programsimplementedby

The lender noted that even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global milk pric- es were soaring due to shorter supplies as major dairy-exporting regions grappled with poor weather or lowermargins. The shortfalls are unlikely to go away, thebank said, adding it expects continued

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6 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® C A L I F O R N I A Trees & Vines ®

Orchard recycling pioneer inspires almond farmers By Edgar Sanchez Brent Holtz grinds tree cuttings at the Modesto farm where he began researching whole-orchard recycling. Some 500 almond growers have since adopted the practice of grinding trees into chips and spreading them onto soil before planting.

Since 2018, more than 500 growers using whole-orchard recycling in the valley have recycled26,000-plus acres anddivertednearly 750,000 tons of wood frombeing burned, according to the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District. Agricultural burning permits are still allowed for designated days, depending on air quality forecasts. By Jan. 1, 2025, under a phaseout ordered by the California Air Resources Board, most burning will be banned in the San Joaquin Valley. To comply with air quality standards, “the ag industries needed an alternative to burning,” said Holtz, the lead investigator for whole-orchard recycling research funded by the Almond Board of California and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He cited another reason many nut farmers embraced whole-orchard recycling: “Growers are environmentalists.” Many were quick to sign on, he said, “when my research showed that they could recycle their old orchards, improve soil quality and benefit their next-generation orchards.” Holtz, 59, who holds a Ph.D in plant pathology fromUCBerkeley, now resides at the north Modesto farm where whole-orchard recycling was conceived. He commutes to Stockton, where he is in his 28th year as a pomology farm advisor and 12th year as director of UCCE in San Joaquin County.

Every day, hundreds of vehicles zoom past a tiny farm that seems out of place in suburban north Modesto. Drivers who speed by the tree-shaded property are likely unaware of its significance. The 3-acres are recognized as the birthplace of a recycling initiative that is applaud- ed for protecting California’s air quality while also benefiting growers in the state’s $6 billion almond industry. Brent Holtz, aUniversity of CaliforniaCooperative Extension farmadvisor who spent much of his youth on that farm, is credited with introducing whole-orchard recycling there as a clean alternative to agricultural burning. Instead of incinerating after-harvest brush or torching entire orchards that have reached the end of their productive lives, many almond growers today use whole- orchard recycling to turn clippings, brush and even whole trees into wood chips and recycle them into the soil. It has become a widely adopted practice among growers in the almond-rich San Joaquin Valley. Holtz’s eventual studies with fellow UC Agriculture and Natural Resources re- searchers showed that whole-orchard recycling provides significant benefits for subsequent orchard plantings, including enhanced tree growth and better water and nutrient retention.

See RECYCLING, Page 8

March 23, 2022 Ag Alert 7

Recycling Continued from Page 7

farmers began calling Holtz, wanting to try whole-orchard recycling. “That’s when (it) took off,” he said. In 2020, conclusions from a UC Davis research team, including Holtz’s, were published in a scientific journal. The re- sults showed that tilling biomass from recycled trees into the soil, instead of using ashes of burned trees, increased yields of new orchards by 15% over their first five years. The whole-orchard recy- cling method also increased soil water retention by 30% and soil nitrogen lev- els by 17%. One grower who phoned Holtz after learning about his research in 2015 was Louie Tallerico, owner of a 38-acre al- mond orchard inManteca. At more than 20 years old, his trees had produced their last nut crop, he said. Fol lowing Hol t z ’s ins t ruc t ions , Tallerico said, a contractor removed the aging trees in 2016, “ground themup and spread the chip on the soil.” In March 2017, he planted 3,800 newalmond trees atop that earth. “Farming is a slow process,” Tallerico said. “When you plant an orchard, you don’t start getting an appreciable yield until three or four years later. So, it’s too early to tell.” But said he believes whole-orchard re- cycling will produce positive results over time. He saidHoltz continues to visit and provide recommendations. While Holtz still may not be getting much attention frommotorists passing by his modest farm, he is now drawing notice on YouTube. He is featured in a new six-min- ute documentar y featuret te t i t led “Res i l i ence : The Who l e Orcha rd Recycling Origin Story.” It was pro- du c e d b y t h e A lmond Bo a r d o f California, which continues to support his research. “My grandf ather would be ver y proud of the solution that came from his farm and his grandson,” Holtz said in the film. “I owe the growers who believed in me and recycled their or- chards a great debt.” (Edgar Sanchez is a reporter based in Sacramento. He may be contacted at edgar.chez@yahoo.com.)

His grandfather, Leonard James, bought the Modesto property in the 1940s and converted it into a peach, walnut and almond orchard. Like oth- er farmers, James routinely burned his almond prunings and brush at the farm. Air quality regulations did not exist then. But Modesto’s rapid expansion—by the 1970s, the city abutted the farm and soon grewbeyond it—sparked concerns, recalledHoltz, who as a teen became his grandfather’s helper. “If we were burning and the wind direction shifted, the smoke would go into surrounding homes,” Holtz said. “People would think there was a fire. Fire trucks would respond. The fire- fighters would say we couldn’t burn within the city limits.” The once-isolated farm needed a smokeless detritus-disposal system. In 1980, Holtz’s father, Stan Holtz, bought a small wood chipper for his personal garden in Escalon. He began depositing the chips around his plants as mulch. Delighted with the results, Stan and Brent’s mother, Diana, pur- chased in 1989 a larger wood chipper powerful enough to chip the prunings from the north Modesto farm. Soon, mulches formed over the almond trees’ root zones.

University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor Brent Holtz perfected the science of grinding up old trees and incorporating them into the soil to help newly planted almond trees thrive.

“This mulch that was developing around the trees, you could see it and smell it and feel it, and you just knew it was becoming this good, healthy soil,” Brent Holtz said. In 2000, he began “a small-scale scien- tific study” involving 3 1/2-foot tall plastic drums at the farm to determine whether an entire almond orchard could be re- cycled. For six years, he watched as the young trees he planted in the drums grew into healthy specimens. In 2008, Holtz expanded his research to a 5-acre experimental orchard at the

Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fresno County. There, he recycled almond trees into the soil before replanting a new al- mond orchard. “In this ongoing trial, instead of using a wood chipper, I used a 100,000-pound rock crusher called the IronWolf,” Holtz said. “It ground the trees up and incor- porated them into the soil. Then we planted new trees where the old ones had been, and we’ve been watching them” since. By 2015, it was clear that the new trees were growing larger, had greater trunk circumferences and yielded “significant- ly more almonds,” Holtz said. As it happened, 2015 was a tough year for Cal i fornia’s co-generation plants, which had bought biomass from almond growers. Many were clos- ing due to new clean-energy laws and declining profits. “In the past, orchard-removal com- panies would remove the (old) orchards for free for the growers, then sell the woodchips to the co-generation plants to burn them and generate electricity,” Holtz said. “What were the growers going to do with their orchard biomass if they couldn’t burn it, or sell it to a co-genera- tion plant?” In October 2015 , Hol t z ’s ini t ia l whole-orchard recycling findings were reported in a grower publication. Soon,

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8 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

USDA grant program seeks to aid fertilizer production

methods andmoreprecise application.” The grant money will come from the CommodityCreditCorporation.Themon- ey was set aside in September for market disruptions.USDAsaiditwilluse the funds to set up a grant program that provides “gap” financing tobringnew, independent domestic production into operation. Details on the application process will be announced this summer, with the first awards expected before year’s end. A part of a Biden administration effort to enhance fair and competitivemarkets,

USDA seeks comments on the effects of concentration and market access for farmers and ranchers; new and growing market competitors, especially small and medium-sizeenterprises; andmoreabout the context of these markets for farmers. Comments and information concerning the effects of concentration and market power infertilizers, seedsandother inputs, and retail also are requested. Once the requests for information are published in the Federal Register, a 60-day commentperiodwillopen.Commentsmay besubmittedthroughwww.regulations.gov.

Positions open on federal wildland fire commission Applications are being accepted for the newly established federal Wildland Fire MitigationandManagementCommission. The commission was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of the InteriorandtheFederal EmergencyManagement Administration. Its objective is to recommendpolicies and strategies tomoreeffectivelyprevent,miti- gate, suppress andmanagewildland fires, including rehabilitating affected lands. The commission seeks volunteermem- bers fromdiverse backgrounds, including people representing nonfederal interests such as state, local, tribal, territorial and nongovernmental interests.Applicantsfrom areas of highwildfire risk or a high level of wildland-urban interfacewill get priority. Members will serve for the life of the commission,whichisexpectedtobeayear andahalf. The firstmeeting is intended for late spring 2022. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. March 25 and must be submitted on- line; the link is available at www.usda. gov/topics/disaster-resource-center/ wildland-fire/commission.Formore infor- mation, visit the foregoingwebsiteoremail wildlandfirecommission@usda.gov. A program to support additional do- mestic fertilizer production to address rising costs to American farmers has been launched. TheU.S.Department of Agriculture said itwillmakeavailable$250million through a grant program this summer aimed at supporting independent, innovative and sustainable domestic fertilizer production to support U.S. farmers. A public inquiry intoincreasedconcernsabout lackof com- petitionintheagricultural supplychainwill also be launched, USDA announced in a statement. The inquiry will seek informa- tion about seeds and agricultural inputs, fertilizer and retailmarkets. Fertilizerpriceshavemorethandoubled since last year. Many factors are in play, according to USDA, among them a price hike attributed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; a limitedsupplyofminerals; high energy costs; high global demand and ag- ricultural commodity prices; reliance on fertilizer imports; and lack of competition in the fertilizer business. The U.S. is a major importer of fertil- izer and is the second- or third-highest importer of each of the three major com- ponents of fertilizer. The top producers of these components includeChina, Russia, Canada and Morocco, with Belarus also supplying a significant share of potash. “Recent supply-chaindisruptions, from theglobalpandemic toPutin’sunprovoked war against Ukraine, have shown just how important it is toinvest inthiscrucial link in

theagricultural supplychainhereathome,” U.S.AgricultureSecretaryTomVilsacksaid in a statement. “In addition to the jobs, lower costs andmore reliable supply, in- creasedinvestment inthedomestic fertiliz- er industrywillhelpaddressclimatechange by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associatedwith transportation, while also fostering more sustainable production

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March 23, 2022 Ag Alert 9

Research effort seeks irrigation data for avocados By JacquelineCovey

sons between growing areas near the Mexico border with hotter climates wi th more temperate zones to the north, and semi-arid to frost-risk areas mixed in between. San Diego County, for example, has rolling hills, with some slopes on a 50% downgrade. Varying soil types can also affect howavocados retainwater or need to be irrigated. “We consider all those components to develop more accurate crop co-efficient and more accurate es- timation of how much water the crop needs under different circumstances,” Montazar said. In SouthernCalifornia, the average av- ocadoorchard is 15 acres, withmore than 50%of operations on fewer than 10 acres and orchards larger than 20 acres repre- senting about 25% of planted acres, the Hass Avocado Board reported in a recent California market profile. In San Diego and Riverside counties, avocados make up about 20,000 acres of the 50,000 acres of planted orchards. California leads in domestic sales of avocados, with Ventura and San Diego counties the top producers in the state. According to its 2020 crop report, San Diego County’s avocado yield was val- ued at nearly $153 million, up from $140 million in 2019. In Riverside and San Diego counties,

Three counties inSouthernCalifornia’s avocado belt are a part of a state-funded research project intended to assist grow- ers in adapting irrigation methods to increase profits and sustain production. A l i Mon t a z a r, a Un i v e r s i t y o f California Cooperative Extension irri- gation and water management advisor, has commenced trials on six commer- cial avocado orchards in San Diego, Riverside and Orange counties through a California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant of more than $430,000. Montazar is conducting field tests to determine the optimal irrigation for avo- cados over the next two and a half years. Growers in the testing region face unique management issues sometimes necessitating hands-on attention and expert consulting. For years, Montazar has taken phone calls and field trips to assist avocado growers with individu- alized irrigation and salinity manage- ment methods. Montazar said he realized growers need region-specific data to overcome water conservation challenges. Th i s mon t h , t he U. S . Dr ough t Monitor listed San Diego County as having moderate drought conditions. That’s an improvement from severe conditions last summer, when much

A University of California Cooperative Extension monitoring station is set up in an avocado orchard. It is part of a comparative irrigation management study in three Southern California counties.

of California was listed in extreme or exceptional drought levels. But con- ditions are expected to worsen across the state unless there is significant rain this spring. Montazar said local growers face sig- nificant challenges and are having to adapt to rising costs of water, and increas- ingly warm and dry conditions. “The immediate need for growers is information,” he said.

Among the counties in the avocado study region, San Diego and Riverside pu l l key wat er supp l i es f rom the Colorado River, while Orange County depends on groundwater. “The Colorado River has high chloride (levels), and avocados are very sensitive to chloride,” Montazar said. “So, this is another concern growers have.” Data will be collected between the three count ies, drawing compar i -

See AVOCADOS, Page 23

10 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

UNTOUCHED THAT’S HOW CITRUS FEELS WITH MOVENTO. ® The same Movento ® insecticide that manages red scale and nematodes also protects against Asian citrus psyllids, which can cause a devastating and fatal disease, Huanglongbing. With its unique two-way movement upward and downward, Movento provides allover protection for high-quality fruit and long-term tree health.

For more information, contact your retailer or Bayer representative or visit www.Movento.us.

ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. The distribution, sale, or use of an unregistered pesticide is a violation of federal and/or state law and is strictly prohibited. Check with your local dealer or representative for the product registration status in your state. Bayer, Bayer Cross, and Movento ® are registered trademarks of Bayer Group. For additional product information, call toll-free 1-866-99-BAYER (1-866-992-2937) or visit our website at www.BayerCropScience.us. Bayer CropScience LP, 800 North Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63167. ©2022 Bayer Group. All rights reserved.

Farmers’ voices heard at Capitol Ag Conference

Farmers and ranchers who traveled to Sacramento for the Capitol Ag Conference gather on the west steps of the Capitol after meeting with legislators and staffers across the street.

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12 Ag Alert March 23, 2022

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