County Corner Highlighting county Farm Bureaus working on behalf of California’s agricultural communities Agriculture thrives in this urban California region
world-renowned Carlsbad Flower Fields while in bloom. Featuring San Diego County farmers, vintners, brewers, chefsandlocal agricultural organizations, it isanagriculture-in- sider event that isopen to thepublic.Grazerswill tasteour local bountywith locallygrown andcuratedbites andbeverageswhile learningabout themany facetsof local agriculture. This is an opportunity for people fromour urban community to view the variety of San DiegoCountyagriculturewhile interactingwith the local farmers andpurveyors. Youmay purchase tickets to attend this event at sdfarmbureau.org/graze-at-the-fields. SanDiegoCountyFarmBureau is theassociation for SanDiegoCounty farmers to turn tobecausewe educate growers and the public about our fast-evolving industry, commu- nicate thevalueof local agriculture, andrepresent farmingbusiness andregulatoryneeds. Members take great pride in belonging to the FarmBureau, andwe offer farm-related classes on everything from field worker training to water quality management to pest management.We teamupthroughtask forces toaddressproblems suchas theAsiancitrus psyllid and light brown applemoth. We also serve as administrator for the SanDiego Region Irrigated Lands Group, which workswithFarmBureaumembers inSanDiego, RiversideandOrangecounties toachieve group compliance for discharge management rules of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. We provide additional forums for learning and networking, and wework to create a strong agricultural community. With an eye to the future, the San Diego County Farm Bureau resides in our local AgHub—a Center for the Business of Agriculture, which also includes offices of the irri- gatedLandsGroup,UniversityofCaliforniaCooperativeExtension farmadvisors andSan DiegoAg in the Classroom. The FarmBureauAgHub serves as agriculture’s key site for sharing knowledge and re- sources in theCounty—all inoneconvenient location. Centrally located inEscondido, it is theplace foragricultural groups toholdmeetingsandexchange ideas.And,whenyoudon’t knowwheretostart, theSanDiegoCountyFarmBureaucanpoint youintherightdirection.
Hannah Gbeh Executive Director
SanDiego County’sMediterranean-like climatemakes it an ideal place to grow crops and raise livestock. More than 3million people live in SanDiego County, andmore than 5,500 farmers onmore than 250,000 acres areworking to turn a profit in our region. Rankedas the19th largest farmeconomy in theU.S., SanDiegoCountyboasts topcrops innursery, flowers, avocados, tomatoes, citrus, chicken, eggs, succulentsandstrawberries. Nearly 70%of SanDiego County farms are 1 to 9 acres, andmore than 35% are operated by women. SanDiego County has more certified organic growers than any other county in the nation, withmore than 360 certified farms. Our county is rankedNo.1 in the nation innursery production and has a $1.8 billion annual farm-gate value. Thehighcost ofwater, electricityand landmake farminghereexpensive, andSanDiego County farmshavespecialized inintegratingagricultural activityandurban living, growing crops thatoptimize limitedacres. SanDiegoCountyexcels inproducingahigh-dollarvalue per acre, with agricultural productionmore valuable than the combined output of other urbanized areas of California, San Francisco, Orange County and Los Angeles. As a uniquely urban county with a strong agricultural industry, the SanDiego County FarmBureauworks hard tobridge theurban-rural gapbetweenour consumers andpoli- cymakers. One example of our work is our upcomingGraze at the Fields event. This event has a target audience of San Diego County residents who are interested in the local foodmovement, preservingurban-facingagricultureandopen to learningmore about local agriculture ingeneral tohelppromoteandsustainSanDiegoCounty farming. An event like no other, Graze at the Fields will be held April 28 from 5-8 p.m. at the
Avocados Continued from Page 10
careful consideration of soil types, gra- dients and slopes that can impact crop yields. The six sites provide researchers with different land-based factors to eval- uate for irrigationmethods. “We (are using) surface renewal and eddy covariance equipment in six dif- ferent sites to measure actual evapo- transpiration, monitor soil moisture at multiple depths, tree canopy tem- perature and stem water potential,” Montazar explained, adding research- ers also use a combination of remote sensing and ground-based data collec- tion and analysis. In conjunction with the research proj- ect, fundingwill be allocated toward out- reach and education resources for grow- ers in Southern California at the end of the data collection period. In addition to hosting workshops and field days, Montazar said he hopes to publish his finding in scientific journals. “If we can help withmore accurate in- formation about water and how to (do a) better jobwith irrigationmanagement for avocados,” Montazar said, “it will have a significant impact.” (Jacqueline Covey is a reporter based in San Diego. She may be reached at jacqcovey@gmail.com.)
cultivation areas have recently dropped below the 24,000-acre mark, the Hass Avocado Board found. That’s a margin- al drop since they combined for 24,311 acres in production in 2018, but contin- ued dry conditions are stirring concerns. “Some are thinking, ‘What should I do with the (land) I have? Should I convert it to something else?’” Montazar said of small operators in Southern California. “That is the biggest decision in the fu- ture for this crop,” Montazar said. Th e S a n D i e g o Coun t y Wa t e r Authority, the major regional water district, still retains high-priority water rights protecting its allotments from the drought-stricken Colorado River, itsma- jor provider. But it is receiving reduced water supplies fromthe Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Amid spiking water prices, the San Diego County Water Authority initiat- ed a water conservation incentive pro- gram last year that offered discounted rates for farmers who agreed to accept reduced deliveries during supply short- ages or emergencies. In addition to water issues, avocados are a highly sensitive crop that require
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March 23, 2022 Ag Alert 23
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