Ag Alert November 29, 2023

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.

President’s message Jamie Johansson previews annual meeting

Artichoke production Acreage shrinks, growing evolves in Monterey County

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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com NOVEMBER 29, 2023

By Christine Souza As California’s weather swings from droughts to floods, farmers say they are planning for either extreme but remain confident knowing the water supply in state reservoirs is well above the historical average for this time of year. Yolo County farmer Fritz Durst said his crystal ball for the 2024 water year is un- clear but added that surface water supplies remain plentiful with more winter weather to come. “Since the reservoirs are healthy right now, we are predicting—unless it’s just an absolute, no-rain-at-all drought—that we will be getting some of our water,” said Durst, a Sacramento River settlement contractor who farms rice, alfalfa, sun- flowers, tomatoes and cereal crops near Knights Landing. “I don’t know if we’ll get all of it. That remains to be seen, but it doesn’t look as negative as it looked (going into) last year,” he said. As of Monday, Lake Shasta, the larg- est federal reservoir in the state’s Central Valley Project, stood at 68% of its capacity and 126% of its historic average. Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, reached 66% of its capac- ity and 132% of its historic average. San Luis Reservoir, which holds water for both the SWP and the CVP, is at 57% of capacity and 113% of average. The abundant surface water stored in reservoirs across the state is the result of an El Niño weather pattern that brought soak- ing atmospheric river storms and flooding early this year. The wet weather arrived af- ter the state faced a third consecutive year of drought in 2022. “We’re at above-average reservoir stor- age this year because of the wet year we had last year,” said Jeanine Jones, inter- state resources manager at the California Department of Water Resources. “Even if this year turns out to be dry, that will help us with respect to managing next year. See WATER, Page 8 Stored water gives farmers hope for plentiful supplies special report Field Crops ® Vegetables ®

Legal battles over elk stress dairy farmers Marin County dairy farmer Tim Kehoe says his operation may be forced to close. His father, Skip, was one of a group of farmers and ranchers who sold properties to help make the Point Reyes National Seashore a reality. But litigation and a fence removal plan threaten to upset decades of coexistence between the national park, dairy farms and herds of tule elk.

By John Beck In the 1960s, dairy farmers along the Marin County coast agreed to sell their ranches to the federal government to fa- cilitate creation of the 71,000-acre Point Reyes National Seashore in 1972. That sales accord created a partnership enabling 27 working ranches to contin- ue operating—scattered between public beaches, hiking trails, campgrounds and, later, a reserve for native tule elk.

But now Tim Kehoe and other Point Reyes dairy farmers say they fear they could be forced to shutter. They argue their way of life has been put in peril by years of environmental lawsuits challenging the U.S. National Park Service’s management of ranching, as well by as a recent propos- al by park officials to remove fencing that separates elk from livestock. “Up until about five or six years ago, we never thought about this coming to an

end,” said Tim Kehoe, a third-generation rancher who works a 1,000-acre dairy farm with his two brothers, Tom and Mike. Their father, Skip Kehoe, was one of the Point Reyes farmers and ranchers who sold properties to enable the national park. Now Tim Kehoe is banding togeth- er with a coalition of local family farms to try to save a regional agricultural heritage dating back to the 1850s.

See ELK, Page 13

n e w s p a p e r

From the Fields .......................4-5 Field Crops ..............................6-7 Vegetables........................... 10-11 Classifieds........................... 14-15 Inside

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We are coming together in Reno to honor our agricultural way of life

Next week, in Reno, we will open California Farm Bureau’s 105th Annual Meeting, bringing together Farm Bureau mem- bers representing America’s most bountiful and diverse agri- cultural state. For this unique opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen our vision for a prosperous agricultural industry, our theme this year is Vision – Action – Results. As we gathered at this time last year, the vision of prosperity for many farmers and ranchers was understandably blurred. We were in the third year of historic drought conditions that resulted in curtailments of water supplies for agriculture. All told, more than 1.3 million acres of farmland were taken out of production—the result of harsh, dry conditions and California’s failure to follow through on long-promised water infrastructure to provide flood control in wet years and to store excess water during dry ones. Farm Bureau has long projected a vision for securing ade- quate, enduring water supplies for our nation’s most populous and critical farming state. This year, we saw entirely different impacts of California’s failure to act on that vision, as a deluge of atmospheric river storms flooded valuable cropland in Monterey County and left dairy farms under water in Kings and Tulare counties, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in agricultural losses across the state. Not content to just let floodwaters recede, we demanded action to enable more of that water be captured for future farming use. At our urging, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the first-ever ex- ecutive order requiring the California State Water Resources Control Board to ease permit requirements to allow farmers to use floodwater diversions to recharge groundwater. This action resulted in 40,000 acre-feet of additional groundwater recharge in the San Joaquin Valley last spring and summer. We didn’t stop there. Using the California state budget pro- cess, we worked to have groundwater recharge enshrined into law as a beneficial water use. Despite our long frustration over inaction of state regulators and legal challenges by advocacy groups, we never lost sight of our vision of a long-term water supply solution that would help with California’s groundwater sustainability while bolstering surface water supplies. While the 2023 El Niño weather phenomenon ended the

drought and a second El Niño year could bring more rain, we know too well that the next California drought is always just around the corner. During the drought, we advocated to reject water policies solely rooted in managing water scarcity. We believed then and now that our state leaders needed to build infrastructure and a water portfolio focused on securing and protecting water abundance for California. In 2014, our Farm Bureau members worked to pass Proposition 1 to allocate $2.7 billion for new water projects. Yet after decades of discussions and years of delays—includ- ing after the initiative’s passage—California still wasn’t acting fast enough. Our members’ activism is turning the tide. This year, the gov- ernor certified that Sites Reservoir, an offstream storage facility planned for north of Sacramento, can now be fast-tracked for construction. Sites Reservoir stands to bring an additional 1.5 million acre-feet of water for drought relief. It will be the first major California reservoir built in almost half a century. Since 1919, the California Farm Bureau has worked to help farmers thrive. We continue to secure opportunities for future generations that will lead us forward with vision and action to produce continued results. At our annual meeting, held in conjunction with the Young Farmers & Ranchers State Conference, beginning this weekend, we honor our member farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses. We will present awards honoring achievements of our coun- ty Farm Bureaus across California. We will salute our up-and- coming young agriculturalists and our longtime members who have dedicated their lives to furthering agriculture. This year, we are presenting Farm Bureau’s Distinguished Service Award to Wayne and Barbara Vineyard of Placer County, who have been involved with Farm Bureau for 65 years, and to Kulwant Johl, who has served on the Yuba-Sutter Farm Bureau board for 35 years, including four as president. Our Farm Bureau members, from those with decades of contributions to others attending their first annual meeting, stand tall for their fellow farmers and ranchers and the greater cause of agriculture. Our members don’t accept the inertia of a slow-to-act polit- ical landscape. They are active in working for solutions. They go beyond mere statements, acting with determination to make a difference.

DECEMBER 1-6, 2023

President’s Message

Jamie Johansson

VOL. 50, NO. 43

November 29, 2023

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2 Ag Alert November 29, 2023

Tulare County dairy farmer wins exhibitor ‘hall of fame’

which each year votes to add a new dairy cattle exhibitor to its rolls with lifetime membership for his or her work. Airoso earned a silver trophy designed by Tiffany & Co. jewelers of New York City. “When people of that magnitude have that kind of respect for you that they would even nominate you, and then you win, it’s pretty humbling,” Airoso said. In a statement about the award, the association pointed to Airoso’s decades in the livestock exhibition circuit, having shown multiple All-California winners, a

handful of Western National champions and several All-American selections. He was voted California State Fair Livestock Man of the Year in 2017 and earned the Al Hay Award at the Western National Show. The association also recognized Airoso’s support for youth, such as when the Western Livestock Show was canceled in 2012 due to lack of state financing, and Airoso and other members of the South San Joaquin Holstein Association came togeth- er to save the dairy portion of the show. The

By Ching Lee After nearly 60 years of showing cattle, Tulare County dairy farmer Joey Airoso acknowledged he’s “pretty well known” in competition circles. Though he has taken home various prizes through the years, Airoso said he was “completely surprised” when he was named the 81st winner of the Klussendorf Award, widely regarded as the Hall of Fame for dairy cattle exhibitors. “It’s one of the most humbling things that’s ever happened to me,” Airoso said about receiving the award. Given in remembrance of dairy cow showman Arthur B. Klussendorf, the award honors people who demonstrate character, sportsmanship, ability, ambi- tion and devotion to dairy cow events, according to the Klussendorf Memorial Association. Founded in 1937, the as- sociation announced this year’s pick in October during the 56th World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Airoso, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, has been showing cattle at the World Dairy Expo since 1986. He started showing live- stock at age 7 as part of 4-H and later FFA. He continued the tradition into adulthood, taking his animals to shows and fairs—and helping younger competitors get started. “It’s a way to add value to our farm and our animals and create better animals,” he said. Airoso manages a family dairy in Pixley that milks 2,600 cows and grows 1,600 acres of alfalfa, corn, wheat and pistachios. His family also breeds and sells registered Holsteins and Jerseys. He described competing in bigger shows such as the World Dairy Expo as akin to play- ing professional football or training for the Olympics, as “there’s months and months of preparation.” Show animals are trained to lead and walk. They’re then washed, clipped and shined for exhibition. He noted how show cows with prized genetics have sold

for as much as a million dollars. “It’s big business,” he said. “There’s a fair amount of money involved if you are able to develop and show real high genetic animals.” Airoso said winning the Klussendorf has meaning because he was selected by members of the Klussendorf Association,

See AWARD, Page 13

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November 29, 2023 Ag Alert 3

From The Fields ®

From the Fields is a firsthand report featuring insights from farmers and ranchers across the Golden State, including members of the California Farm Bureau. If you would like to be a contributor to From the Fields, submit your name, county of membership and contact information to agalert@cfbf.com.

Photo/Courtesy Richard Bianchi

Photo/Paolo Vescia

Richard Bianchi San Benito County vegetable grower

Loren Poncia Marin County rancher

We had good rain, somewhere around half an inch. It was kind of a final slam the door to the season. The season started with rain and ended with rain. It was one of those seasons that you never felt like you got your feet on the ground. From the time it started raining last winter, things never settled in; it was constantly chaotic. Farming in the Salinas area has gotten so intense. We go from harvesting to planting, in some cases in 30 days or less. We scale back when the industry moves production to Yuma. At that time, the pace of the work slows, but we have plenty to do. Normally, you plant two or three days a week, and soon we will plant once a week. In the Salinas area, we’re taking advantage of the break in between the rain and getting ready for the coming season before everybody moves down to Yuma. With the harvest that has just wrapped up, everybody is getting things ready for the 2024 season. A good winter is definitely welcome. Hopefully, we don’t get floods. There’s a certain amount of work to get ready. We are preparing ground, getting planting beds ready and doing some last-minute soil amending. We are starting to plant some of the longer-term crops (such as) parsley, and broccoli will be going in shortly. Lettuce is right around the corner, and celery is not too far off that. We keep our core employees busy through the winter. It’s a lot of equipment repair and maintenance. We plan work for employees based on the weather and divide them into groups. One group works in the field, and if it is raining, they’ll move into the shop and work on equipment and maintenance. As for the vegetable market, it’s been a lackluster season. I don’t think it’s been ex- tremely bad, but it hasn’t been strong. Demand has been very soft.

We just got 2 inches of rain in the North Bay, so things are starting to green up and grow, which is awesome. We’re optimistic for a good grass season and high cattle markets. We’ve had a pretty good year so far, and we’re hopeful that we’ll get rain into the spring. Our most important rains are the first one and our last one. We got 2 inches to get started, so that’s great. Now we just need some good wintertime and spring rain. Last year we had a very tough winter. It rained so much and was so cold that we didn’t get much grass growth until May, and then we had a great May and June. But from December to May, it wasn’t very good. Overall, it’s been a good grass year for us. I produce beef, pork and lamb. I also sell chickens, but I don’t raise the chickens my- self. We’re trying to diversify to have all our proteins covered. Cattle markets are close to an all-time high, which is really good for cattlemen. The pork market is pretty low. The lamb market is pretty flat. We have consistent customers, but they’re not really growing. We do what’s called climate-beneficial wool. We sell our wool to Coyuchi. They make down comforters and bedspreads. We don’t make a lot of money on it, but it pays for our shearing, and we make a little money. We’re different from most other ranchers because we sell most of our product direct to consumers. It’s less of a price issue annually because the price is what we need it to be. But I’m concerned because the consumer can only pay so much for meat, and the price of beef is so high that consumers are going to start switching to pork or chicken. We prefer to eat beef at our house, but some people like chicken. We are starting to see people switch away from beef.

Wayne Bishop Yuba County agritourism operator and farmer

Weather is the most important factor in how well we do, and we had a nice, cool September—cool by September standards—so we had a good, solid year with a small amount of growth from past years. The pumpkin crop was probably the best I ever had. I wish I had a few more customers to buy them all. In early September, I didn’t think I had enough fruit set on the vines, but it was an excellent crop. I always plant a little more than what I think I need because you never know when you’re going to have a problem. When it produces well, then I have extra. At least all my customers had a great selection right until the end. We sell a fair amount (of the unsold pumpkins) for livestock feed. People come in and haul them out. But we have a short window of time to get that done. Then we disk the fields and plant our winter forage crops, which are harvested in the spring for feed for a local dairy. We’re finishing planting now. We don’t like to wait too long after Halloween to get started on that because you can get rain, and it makes it difficult to get those crops planted. We took part of our walnuts out last year. I took the Hartleys out. I just have Chandlers left. It’s not a lot of acreage, but we had a good crop this year. We just hope they’re worth something when all that gets worked out. We haven’t figured out what we will plant (in place of the Hartleys). We might grow more pumpkins. We’ve talked about planting apples as a U-pick crop. We’ll put our winter forage crop there in the meantime. We also grow some corn for silage in the summertime, so we might do that on that ground next summer while we think about it some more.

Photo/Ching Lee

4 Ag Alert November 29, 2023

Laura Gutile Madera County pistachio grower

I harvested my pistachios late. It was about a week off of normal. I finished in mid-Oc- tober. We haven’t gotten final reports yet, but on the preliminary reports, my insect damage was very low. I had a lot of closed shell, which is not real normal. But the quality looks pretty good. The yield was up a little bit from the year before. It was a decent year overall. We had very little pest pressure. We were able to do our orchard sanitation. The orchards around me were able to do their sanitation as well. We had very little navel orangeworm damage. We did do a couple of timed sprays. It seemed like the edges of my orchard were affected. But it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I’m lucky that I’m in an area where everyone practices orchard sanitation and does the mummy shakes and the shredding. Right now, we’re not doing much. We irrigated a little bit to give the trees a drink of water. Normally, we apply a foliar zinc, but this year we decided not to based on the cost. We’re getting together with our PCA and formulating a plan going into the next growing season. That involves soil samples, tissue samples and moisture levels. All that plays a part in how we do things nutrient-wise, foliar spray-wise or fertigation-wise. It’s been a wacky year. All the rain in early spring came at the worst times, like when everything was starting to wake up. Fortunately, our orchard can take water, and we weren’t flooded. Everybody is predicting an El Niño super-wet year, so it could be back-to-back wet years. Maybe we’ll get enough water, and we won’t have to irrigate at all. I was grateful for the rain and grateful for the farmers that were able to take the floodwaters to recharge systems and help the aquifer as a whole. But I found you can’t plan for rain.

Photo/Courtesy Laura Gutile

November 29, 2023 Ag Alert 5

CALIFORNIA

Field Crops A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ®

Researchers used a small-scale combine like the one shown here to harvest rice plots at the California Rice Experiment Station near Biggs. The rice was planted with a Mid-South drill-seeded system.

Study tests a new rice planting system for California By Vicky Boyd

tadpole shrimp damage, Linquist said. The two aquatic pests feed on newly germinated rice in flooded fields, uprooting the plants and frequently killing them. Although the results of what Linquist described as a pilot study at the Rice Experiment Station near Biggs this season are promising, he said some aspects, including seeding rates, herbicide programs and fertility, need refinement. Even so, he said, growers should view a no-till drill-seeded system as a long-term com- mitment because practices from one season, such as rutting during harvest, may affect fields the following year. Linquist credited Chris Isbell, part of a multigenerational rice farm near England, Arkansas, for sharing his no-till and drill-seeding practices. For years, the Isbells have been no-tilling fields when possible. “We like to no-till everything we can, but sometimes you can’t,” Isbell said. “If you cut it up in the fall, you have to do a lot of tillage in the spring.” They burn their fields after harvest to reduce organic matter, a practice that was phased out in California in the early 2000s. They then flood for waterfowl and to aid crop decom- position during the winter. After draining fields in the spring, they chemically burn down weeds that have grown, and then they’re ready to plant.

University of California researchers are experimenting with a popular Mid-South drill-seeded rice system that plants seed directly into the ground. They are studying whether the method can work well in California rice fields. If successful, it could be a 180-degree turn from the state’s current planting practice of airplanes flying pre-germinated rice seed into already flooded fields. Combined with no-till, which eliminates cultivation, the drill-seeded system could potentially save up to 6 inches of water by forgoing flooding early in the season, said UC Cooperative Extension rice specialist Bruce Linquist, who leads the research. During an entire season, a rice crop’s consumptive water use—including water taken in and trans- pired by the plant—is about 3 acre-feet. “I think it’s maybe the only management practice in this cropping system that could really cut our water use,” Linquist said. “I think we can use a lot less water in a no-till drill-seeded system. “This certainly is a little bit of out-of-the-box stuff for here,” he added. “If people want to get into it, there will be some upfront investment for sure, and I don’t see it as a panacea as far as this is where everything should go.” No-till drill seeding also offers potentially lower land preparation costs, an earlier planting window, a chance to rotate herbicides, plus an avoidance of rice seed midge and

See RICE, Page 7

6 Ag Alert November 29, 2023

Rice Continued from Page 6

with the drill-seeded system, applying urea on the soil surface right before permanent flood. With water seeding, rice farmers shortly before planting inject aqua ammo- nia about 3-4 inches below the soil surface, then flood fields to seal it in. The herbicide program consisted of Prowl, Clincher and propanil. Although Linquist was fairly happy with overall weed control, he said he’d still like to improve it. Of the treatments, the fall stale seed bed yielded the highest with 86-87 hundred- weight per acre dry. Yields from the other drill-seeded treatments ranged from 75-80 cwt. per acre. That compares to yields of 86-87 cwt. per acre for other water-seeded plots at the Rice Experiment Station. “We’re pretty excited,” Linquist said. “Certainly, in the fallow treatments, it seems to have a very similar yield poten- tial. There’s maybe a little bit of a hit when you go into more of a true no-till.” He said next season he hopes to expand the trial at the Rice Experiment Station and conduct similar studies on-farm with a few cooperating rice producers. The California Rice Research Board funded the pilot program this year. Linquist has received California Department of Food and Agriculture Fertilizer Research and Education Program funding to con- tinue the project in 2024. (Vicky Boyd is a reporter in Modesto. She may be contacted at vlboyd@att.net.)

The Isbells have water seeded rice for decades to help manage weeds, and they still use it on part of their farm. On the oth- er portion, they began drill seeding more than 10 years ago when new herbicides and herbicide-resistant rice varieties came to market. Each planting system has benefits and drawbacks, some of which Isbell said may not be readily apparent. “Any time you change a system like that, you’re going to run into a problem you didn’t even expect,” he said. Linquist’s trial included four different drill-seeded treatments, none of which were tilled this season. He said he focused on no- till because the practice conserves moisture in the soil that plants can tap during ear- ly-season germination and growth. “Conventional tillage encourages evap- oration,” Linquist said, referring to pre- plant disking, floating and other ground preparation. “No-till conserves that water for growth.” The experimental treatments included a fallow stale seed bed where the field went unplanted in 2022. It was disked and lev- eled last year but was not flooded during the winter. The three other 2022 treatments had rice grown on them. After harvest, the straw was chopped, burned or half removed to simulate baling. All three were flooded

Young rice plants push though straw stubble in research trials for drill-seeded rice. The California Rice Research Board funded the pilot project. State funding will support continued research.

during the winter for waterfowl. No tillage was done to any of the plots this season. Using a Great Plains no-till drill, the crew planted 150 pounds per acre of the M-206 medium-grain variety May 2 in research plots. They designed planter slices through the organic matter covering the soil surface to place the seed at the correct depth.

Much like growers in the South, Linquist’s crew flushed the plots once after planting. They did not irrigate again until June 2, when they went to permanent flood with three- to four-leaf rice. The plots re- mained flooded until they were drained about two weeks before harvest. Linquist had to change fertility practices

Keep what's above our land safe by understanding what's below. Call 811 Before You Dig

November 29, 2023 Ag Alert 7

Water Continued from Page 1

Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, are interested in boosting groundwater aquifers. If this water year brings flooding from storms, as occurred last winter and spring, Sheely said he hopes to use stormwater to recharge groundwater supplies. “This year, we have excess water and are filtering our Westland’s water, treat- ing it with chlorine and injecting it down our wells and building credits for SGMA,” Sheely said. “With SGMA, in years that there is extra water, we’re going to have to shut our wells down, and that is how we get the most recovery of the aquifer.” Westlands Water District announced last week that it has recharged 200,000 acre-feet of groundwater into district aquifers and set an updated target to recharge 275,000 acre-feet of groundwater by Feb. 29. In preparation for winter storms and to enhance public safety, state and federal officials have begun conducting water re- leases from reservoirs to increase storage capacity for incoming water. “Every year, the state is getting better and better at managing reservoirs based upon forecast conditions, because you don’t want to spill any more water than you have to in the name of flood control, because whatever you spill, you’re going to need for crops the next irrigation season,” said Chris Scheuring, senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau. “We hope we have another year in which we replace every bit of what we use this year in the reservoirs, and we go into the next year with full reservoirs,” Scheuring added. “We’re always planning ahead for the next drought.” (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

Jones added, “The coming year could be like a water year 2018 or 2020, which were dry years that followed a wet water year and there was decent reservoir storage.” Since the 2024 water year began on Oct. 1, the state has received little pre- cipitation and snow. The first moderate precipitation arrived last week, bringing a drop in the bucket of what is needed to carry the state through the year. The low-pressure system was concen- trated on the Central Coast and Bay Area, and brought light snow to the higher eleva- tions of the Sierra Nevada. While the storm did not materialize into a soaking atmospheric river, Jones said, “it’s nice we get a little rain to provide some soil moisture.” She said state water managers pay clos- er attention to the period from December through January, when the state receives half of its annual precipitation. “We’re still quite early in the season,” said Jones, adding the forecasted El Niño weather pattern does not guarantee soak- ing rains for the state. “California’s precipitation has wide, an- nual variability. Any year could be a dry year or a wet year. You should be prepared for either extreme,” Jones said. Farmers are planning for any weather scenario as they develop planting schedules

North of Redding in Shasta County, Lake Shasta is the largest federal reservoir of the Central Valley Project. The reservoir stood at 68% of its capacity and 126% of its historic average on Monday.

for the coming growing season. Kings County farmer Ted Sheely, who grows a mix of tree, row and field crops in Lemoore, said he is “always, always” plan- ning for a dry or wet water year. Sheely farms in the Westlands Water District, which received 100% of its con- tracted water allotment this year from CVP. It was the first time since 2017 that contrac- tors received 100% water deliveries. “We actually farmed 100% of our ground this year. We are planning on doing 100% next year, but we’ve got relief valves in there so we can quit growing something,” Sheely said. “We started in September, lay- ing out a crop plan, and it’s changed four or five times, and we’re still changing it.”

Sheely won’t know next season’s initial water allocation figure until February or March. As a result, he said, “we have places we can cut all along the way” if he needs to re- duce water use. He said he has contingen- cy plans for reducing plantings of wheat, tomatoes, onions and cotton. In Northern California, Durst said, he is using practices such as no-till and growing cover crops to keep water on the fields and promote soil health. “I’m interseeding cover crops, such as different peas, beans, vetch and mustard, in the furrows of my asparagus,” he said. “It will get taken out in early March, but in the meantime, the cover crops are going to slow down the rainwater, and we’ll re- tain more of that water instead of having it run off.” Durst added, “Having a covering on the soil is really important for me, to save that water when we do get it.” Sheely said farmers subject to local sus- tainability plans required under the state’s

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8 Ag Alert November 29, 2023

NATIONWIDE NEWS

Risk management is key for farm landlords, tenants

The following information is provided by Nationwide ® , the No. 1 farm and ranch insurer in the U.S.* The farmland market is red hot. Though such a bullish marketplace is a boon for landowners, it also changes the game for tenants who depend on rented land for a large share of their crop revenue. High prices make it even more important to make sure everyone involved has the right insurance coverage in place. Complicating the equation for lessees is the recent rise in absentee farmland own- ership. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report**, around 40% of the land farmed in the U.S. is rented. Of that share, around 31% is owned by an absen- tee or nonoperator, a number that con- tinues to rise, especially as active farmers retire and sell land. The combination of these trends creates year-over-year operational and manageri- al challenges for leasing farmers and their landowners. One of those is ensuring that both parties are adequately managing the risk of a land lease for which the two parties may be thousands of miles apart. In most cases when a farmer rents land from an absentee landowner, risk manage- ment responsibilities are split between the two parties. Each lease should spell out who

is responsible for different operational and management responsibilities. And what is fair is not always equal. For example, if adding improvements like tile drainage can boost the long-term productivity of a field, installation costs should be shared based on the equity it creates. If a lessee anticipates renting the land for only one year, he or she should not bear as much cost as the landowner, who will likely see greater value in the form of higher rents over time as a result of the improvement. If such improvements are part of a mul- tiyear leasing strategy in which the lessee will remain in the picture, he or she will likely pay a larger share of the cost. In gen- eral, the duration of a lease often is a ma- jor contributor to how land improvement costs are spread between the landowner and renter. Think about how land is used. There are several factors that influence how farmland is insured. First, it’s important to consider the basics of the property and its intended purpose. Some land is obviously for cropping, but grassland or pastureland may have multiple uses. A piece of land’s intended uses should be accounted for in both the written lease and the chosen in- surance coverage.

Coverage options also vary widely based on lease land’s use. A basic homeowners policy rarely covers all of the operational risk of leased farmland. Sometimes en- dorsements cover those specific risks, but in other cases, altogether different policies specifically designed for farmland are the best solutions. Especially with absentee leases, it’s always a good idea to have regular meetings during which the lessee can update the landowner on all activities on the leased land and how they impact things such as lease price and optimal insurance coverage options. Talk with your insurance agent. No matter how you’re involved with farming—whether you’re currently farming or new to owning or renting farmland—it’s important to talk

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November 29, 2023 Ag Alert 9

CALIFORNIA

Vegetables A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ®

Artichokes thrive at Monterey County-based Scattini Farms in Castroville. The state’s artichoke acreage has dropped in the past few decades, but farmers are looking to genetics to improve quality and production.

Artichoke farmers use genetics to improve quality By Caitlin Fillmore

Artichoke farming is labor intensive, challenging harvest crews and farmers facing employee shortages. Harvest workers navigate plants that tower over their heads. They evaluate and grade buds that mature at different rates before they chop and separate larger ones destined for premium markets from those headed to secondary markets. The hands-on process, with employees making four to nine passes through a field, is “just the name of the artichoke harvest,” said Mark McLaughlin, president of the Artichoke Research Association. Mike Scattini, a fourth-generation farmer who grows 100 acres of artichokes in Castroville, said it used to be easier to hire farm crews when artichoke harvest happened primarily in winter as opposed to year-yound. Scattini said many people “still want to work in the winter but don’t want to in the summer when there are other crops that are easier (to harvest) for the same amount of money.” To address labor concerns, Scattini hires 15 to 20 agricultural guestworkers each spring, providing housing, paid transportation and guaranteed wage scales under federal H-2A visa program requirements. He said the H-2A visa program helps him “ensure we have the employees.” “You can meet your goals, but it’s not cheap,” he added.

Monterey County is largely known as the Salad Bowl for its agricultural bounty of leafy greens. Yet since 1948, when it honored Marilyn Monroe as California’s first Artichoke Queen, the county has celebrated a petaled thistle plant with meaty hearts that enhance salads and inspire culinary creations. California produces 97% of the nation’s fresh artichokes, and 75% of those are grown in Monterey County. The artichoke is the county’s official vegetable, and tourists flock to restaurants and farm stands along the Artichoke Trail, which opened in 1957. Yet artichoke production on California’s Central Coast has steadily fallen over the past three decades since its peak of 18,000 acres in the 1980s. In 2022, Monterey County farmers grew 4,750 acres of artichokes. This year, acreage dropped to about 4,300, according to the California Artichoke Advisory Board. This is partly due to a transition from perennial artichoke plants to an annual or seeded variety in the 1990s, after a lengthy cold snap killed acres of perennial artichokes in the county. Seeded varieties can be more densely planted and produce a more uniform crop that can be harvested in weeks vs. wilder perennials that require months of harvesting. “(Seeded artichoke) varieties are higher yielding, so you don’t need as much land to get the same yield,” said Michael Cahn, a University of California Cooperative Extension irrigation and water resource advisor in Monterey County.

See ARTICHOKES, Page 11

10 Ag Alert November 29, 2023

Harvesting artichokes requires human hands and is unlikely to be helped by au- tomation, Cahn said. “Artichokes are one of the more difficult ones” to automate due to the plants lack of uniformity,” he said. “Hybrid production is helping them be more uniform. But there is still a strong wild component to them. “How can a robot know the best way to make a judgment?” he added. Pest concerns, including lygus and pro- ba bugs, present another challenge for artichoke growers. Proba bugs specifical- ly target artichokes. Both pests discolor leaves and eat the base of the artichoke bud, turning it black and useless. Because artichokes are a niche crop, McLaughlin said growers face a shortage of approved pesticides. “We’re the minor crop. The interest of ag chemical suppliers to come up with labels for artichoke use is difficult,” said McLaughlin, who also serves as president and general manager of Kleen Globe, a Castroville agricultural pest management company. “It’s not like corn in Iowa. The economic interest from ag suppliers is just not there.” McLaughlin and Cahn agree the arti- choke sector is increasingly looking to genetic research to improve labor and pest control. Artichokes Continued from Page 10

At this 100-acre artichoke farm in Monterey County, Mike Scattini, a fourth-generation farmer, says he is focused on plant genetics to develop quality varieties that are rich in flavor.

“Genetics will play a huge part in the fu- ture of the artichoke industry,” McLaughlin said. “Innovation within the artichoke in- dustry is at the forefront.” McLaughlin described a cloning process to reproduce the heirloom green globe ar- tichoke. Researchers recreated this hardy perennial variety using modern propa- gation techniques, combining heirloom quality with uniform crop production. “We are looking to innovation to solve the problems coming up,” McLaughlin said. “We’re developing new varieties that

will produce that heirloom artichoke.” This may present a full-circle moment for the artichoke sector, using genetic tech- nology to return to a version of the peren- nial artichoke variety first popularized in Castroville a century ago. For his part, Scattini said his focus on artichoke genetics is aimed at enhancing the flavor of the vegetable, which is chal- lenging to grow and to prepare for meals. Scattini said he educates customers about the worthiness of artichokes, including in- structing them on potential dishes. “The industry’s going toward yield. I’m going toward quality,” said Scattini, who describes his crop as “tender and original.”

“If you’re going to take the time to do all the things you have to do (to cook and eat an artichoke), I want to exceed your expec- tations,” he said. He said he is committed to the vegeta- ble and continuing its production on the Central Coast. “There’s pride and enjoyment in growing artichokes,” Scattini said. “When I tell people I’m an artichoke farmer or give them artichokes, the response I get is like I’ve given them a nice gift.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)

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November 29, 2023 Ag Alert 11

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