Ag Alert November 29, 2023

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

Built strong and built to last, for the jobsite or the trail, MULE ™ side x sides get it all done with confidence.

MULE PRO°FXT™ RANCH EDITION PLATINUM WARN® VRX 45, the WARN logo and THE RED HOOK STRAP are registered trademarks of Warn Industries, Inc. Assembled in the U.S.A. badge does not apply to MULE PRO-MX™ models.

FRESNO CLAWSON MOTORSPORTS 559-435-5020 www.clawsonmotorsports.com MODESTO KAWASAKI OF MODESTO 209-529-5424 www.hkmodesto.com PETALUMA K & B MOTORSPORTS OF PETALUMA 707-763-4658 kandbmotorsports.com

ROCKLIN/ROSEVILLE ROSEVILLE MOTORSPORTS 916-784-2444 www.roseville-motorsports.com SALINAS COASTAL TRACTOR 831-757-4101 www.coastaltractor.com

Scan with camera to view videos, key features and more.

KAWASAKI CARES: Read Owner’s Manual and all on-product warnings. Always wear protective gear appropriate for the use of this vehicle. Never operate under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Protect the environment. The Kawasaki MULE™ side x side is an off- highway vehicle only, and is not designed, equipped or manufactured for use on public streets, roads or highways. Obey the laws and regulations that control the use of your vehicle. © 2022 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.

8 Ag Alert November 29, 2023