Ag Alert May 12, 2021

District works to bolster Pajaro Valley groundwater

leaving thewetland toanareawhere it can move down through the soil to replenish the underground basin. “The water recycling facility has been producingmorewater each year; it is now up to 7% of the district total water use,” Lockwoodsaid. “Ifwedidn’t take thewater fromHarkinsSlough, itwouldrundownto theMonterey Bay, mix with seawater and be of no use to us.” These new sources of water, combined with conservation efforts by farmers, have been enough to reduce pumping from 50,000 acre-feet in 2008 to less than 40,000

acre-feet in 2019, and have kept the un- derground water table above sea level in average rainfall years. Thegoal,Lockwoodsaid, istoimprovethe balancebetweenpumpingandrechargeby anadditional12,000acre-feetofwaterayear. That would be accomplished through fur- ther efficiency efforts and increased supply fromexpanding current projects and reim- bursingfarmersforeffortstousestormwater runoff torechargetheundergroundaquifer. Fisher saidoneaspect of climatechange couldbeanincreaseintheamountofwater

ByBob Johnson Watsonville-area farmers who rely on well water to produce berries and vege- tables are continuing to progress on their long-termgoal of reduceddepletionof un- dergroundwater throughacombinationof conservation and new sources. The Pajaro Valley got a head start on meeting requirements the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act will re- quire more widely, because overdrafted undergroundwater was causing seawater intrusion thatmade somewells too salty. “We have been increasing water deliv- eries and reducing pumping,” said Brian Lockwood, generalmanager andhydrolo- gist at thePajaroValleyWaterManagement Agency. “The Sustainable Groundwater ManagementActrequireshighpriority,criti- callyoverdraftedbasinslikethePajaroValley toachievesustainabilityby2040.Wedoalot of thethingsSGMAcallsfor,butweweredo- ing themlongbefore the lawwasenacted.” The three-county agency that oversees water policy in the basin was created in 1984, and began developing and imple- menting programs to reduce seawater in- trusionnear the coast in the 1990s. Because the Pajaro Valley is not served by deliveries from state or federal water

projects, the district has had to develop additional local water sources. Lockwood andUniversity of California, Santa Cruz, hydrology professor Andrew Fisher discussed past and current efforts to preserve the underground water used to irrigate 28,000 acres of crops during the FertilizerResearchandEducationProgram OnlineNutrientManagement Program. Thedistricthasmapsdatingbackto1951 showing the boundaries of seawater intru- sion, whichhappenswhenpumpingdrops the undergroundwater serving the coastal district tobelowsealevel.Levels intheaqui- ferdropbelowsealevelduringdroughtsand the peak spring and summer season, and riseabovesealevelwithrechargeduringwet years and thewinter rainy season. “Itwas determinedweneeded to reduce groundwater extraction in the coastal area whilemaintaining agriculture,” Lockwood said. “We have done that withour recycled water facility and the Harkins Slough re- charge facility.” Therecycledwater facility receives4,000 acre-feet a year fromWatsonville homes and businesses, treats it to a level that is safe for crop use and delivers it to coastal farms througha 21-milenetwork of pipes. TheHarkinsSloughprojectmoveswater

See PAJARO, Page 24

Agricultural Market Review Quotations are the latest available for the week ending May 7, 2021 Year Ago Week Ago Latest Week Livestock Slaughter Steers – 5-Area Average Select & Choice, 1050–1150 lbs., $ per cwt. 95-105 120 118-119 Hogs – Average hog, 51-52% lean, Iowa-Minn. market, $ per cwt. 73.17 104.79 108.36 Slaughter Lambs – $ per cwt. 125–175 lbs. National weekly live sales No Quote 180-210 170-216 Field crops – basis prompt shipment Barley – U.S. No. 2, $ per cwt. Truck, Stockton-Modesto-Oakdale-Turlock 9.20 (Kings/Tulare) 14 14.25-14.75 Cotton – ¢ per lb., Middling 1 3/32” Fresno spot market 58.19 79.49 77.47 Corn – U.S. No. 2 yellow $ per cwt. trucked 8.12 8.55 8.94 Alfalfa Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Region 1, Northern Inter-mountain No Quote No Quote No Quote Region 2, Sacramento Valley 225-240 (P/S) 280-300 (orchard mix) 250 (G) Region 3, Northern San Joaquin Valley 190-230 (P/S) 270-295 (P/S) 270-280 (P/S) Region 4, Central San Joaquin Valley 225 (F/G) 265-300 (P/S) No Quote Region 5, Southern California 279 (P) 259 (P) 259 (P) Region 6, Southeast Interior 190-210 (P) 220-225 (P/S) 190-230 (P/S) Oat Hay – $ per ton, quality*, FOB Northern California, dairy No Quote No Quote No Quote Oats – U.S. No. 2 white, $ per cwt. Statewide, trucked price No Quote No Quote No Quote

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Calcium Carbonate (or Calcium Magne- sium Carbonate) aka Aglime has been used to improve farm soils for over 70 years. There are hundreds of eld trials and reputable university studies proving it is a reliable, predictable and cost eec- tive source of calcium. Today, there are a lot of great new calcium products available today. Math is key to nding the best source of calcium for your money. Let’s compare our nely ground AgLime, to another Ca product made from limestone. To make things simple, let’s use $50 as the cost to treat one acre with either product. The table below shows one easy way to compare two products. If you want more than 1 ppm, do some math before apply- ing calcium amendments.

Dry Beans – Grower FOB prices Baby Limas, $ per cwt, (sacked) Large Limas, $ per cwt. (sacked) Blackeye, $ per cwt. (sacked)

No Quote No Quote No Quote

Rice – Milled No. 1 Head, FOB No. Calif. mills Medium grain, $ per cwt. Wheat – U.S. No. 2 or better, winter, $ per cwt. 13% protein, Los Angeles, trucked price

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No Quote 14.50 (No. 3) Provided by the California Farm Bureau as a service to Farm Bureau members. Information supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market News Branch. * ADF=Acid detergent fiber; (S) = Supreme/<27%ADF; (P) = Premium/27-29; (G) = Good/29-32; (F) = Fair/32-35. 12.75 (No. 3)

Details

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Application rate Cost per ton Cost per pound Ca ppm per acre Cost per Ca ppm % Calcium

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$100,000

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32% 320

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May 12, 2021 Ag Alert 23