C A L I F O R N I A
FieldCrops A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ®
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Researchers check salmon cages for the presence of juvenile salmon, during a project conducted last year in a Yolo County rice field. The California Rice Commission reports young salmon reared in rice fields performed better than hatchery-raised fish in surviving their migration from the Sacramento Valley to the Pacific Ocean.
Use of rice fields as salmon habitat shows promise ByBob Johnson
While the project remains in the early stages of learning how rice fields can play a role as habitat for salmon, the waterfowl habitat programs have become extensive and suc- cessful, he said. “Ourprogramshaveexplodedsince2010, especiallywithshorebirdhabitat,”Buttnersaid. The California Ricelands Waterbird Foundation was created in 2016 to develop pro- grams and raise funds to support farmers for extendinguseof their fields ashabitat for the birds—somethingmany growers were already doing. The earliest andmost widely adoptedpractice is to flood the fields after harvest, which recreates the Sacramento Valleywetlands that served as habitat formanywaterfowl spe- cies for centuries. Under the Bid4Birds program, rice farmers bid for grants to provide habitat for various waterfowl species. “If you are awinter flooder, you qualify for $15 an acre for flooding,” Buttner said. Anotherwaterfowl programcompensates farmers formaintainingnesting cover in the months after harvest. There is also a phase two of the nesting cover program that compensates farmers for maintaining the cover through the summer in drought years, when they might want to
Salmonreared inrice fieldsgrowfaster and larger than those fromahatcheryandare far more likely to finish the journeydown the river to thePacificOcean, according to research underway in the SacramentoValley. “We found there was a significant increase in the rice field salmon that made it to the ocean, compared tohatchery-raisedsalmon,” saidPaul Buttner,manager of environmen- tal affairs for the California Rice Commission. “We think this could be the beginning of something like our water bird program.” Buttner discussed the results from a pilot salmon project, and the latest additions to waterfowl habitat efforts, during the 2021Winter RiceGrowerMeetingwebinar. “Last year, our programwas four times as effective as the control at getting the salmon out to the ocean,” he said. “We believe our programwill get the salmon out to the ocean larger and earlier, before the predators are very active.” The salmon project is in the early stages of learning how rice farmers canmodify their fields tomake them suitable for raising salmon and releasing them into the river for the journey to the Pacific. “Weareabout threeyears intoour ricelandssalmonprojectandwealreadyknowsalmon growquickly in rice fields,”Buttner said. “Weare trying to learnhowtomodify the fields to encourage the salmon to growandmake it back into the river.”
See HABITAT, Page 8
March 17, 2021 Ag Alert 7
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