Ag Alert. November 9, 2022

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.

Water warning Colorado River supplies could be restricted

Growing presence Aussie olive oil firm expands acreage in state

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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Trees & Vines ®

special report

By Christine Souza Balancing the state’s groundwater sup- plies for a sustainable future may not be easy due to severe drought and ongoing economic challenges facing farmers. “We’ve got the lowest prices and high- est production costs and the least-reliable water supply that we’ve had since I’ve been farming,” said Bill Diedrich of Firebaugh, who farms row crops and permanent crops on the west side in Madera and Fresno counties. “We’ve had one or the other but not all three at the same time.” Diedrich, who relies on groundwater for irrigating farmland in Madera County and surface water for ground in Fresno County, said farming at this time “is very difficult.” He said the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which tasks local agen- cies to balance groundwater supplies in affected basins by 2040 and 2042, means farmland must come out of production. For his Madera County farmland, which is entirely groundwater dependent, he esti- mates that he will need to fallow 150 acres. “What we’re looking at in SGMA is we’re just going to be taking land out of produc- tion; there’s just no other way around it,” Diedrich said. “Those of us in ag are con- cerned about the domestic food supply. We don’t want to see a bunch of govern- ment money coming in to shut down farms. We would rather see that money put towards water-supply infrastructure, changing some of the regulatory issues harming our water supply and bringing in more water.” The 20-year effort to balance ground- water supplies and develop groundwater sustainability plans is a regulatory process managed by the California Department of Water Resources. The department over- sees SGMA implementation and provides oversight through evaluation and assess- ment of local groundwater sustainability plans, providing guidance and technical and financial assistance. Paul Gosselin, deputy director of the See GROUNDWATER, Page 11 Efforts to protect groundwater are tested by drought

Eric Morgan, vice president of environmental science and resources at Braga Fresh, inspects an iceberg lettuce field for impacts of the impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV. He said the spread this year has been devastating for many growers, adding, “Every day that passes, more plants will drop.”

Salinas Valley farmers hit by lettuce virus

By Caleb Hampton A virus spread by insects is causing widespread damage to lettuce crops in the Salinas Valley, the renowned Salad Bowl that provides more than one-half of America’s lettuce. According to growers and researchers, impatiens necrotic spot virus, or INSV, is ravaging lettuce fields in the region that

normally accounts for $1.2 billion in an- nual lettuce production. Farmers are predicting big financial loss- es. Consumers may see increased prices, with most growers reaping little benefit. “The impact of this is huge,” said Tony Alameda, manager at Topflavor Farms, which grows lettuce in the Salinas Valley. In 2020, the Grower-Shipper

Association of Central California esti- mated INSV cost lettuce producers $100 million in lost revenue that year. “I think it’s going to be worse this year,” said Mary Zischke, the association’s INSV task force leader. INSV is a plant pathogen transmitted by millimeter-long thrips. The insects,

See LETTUCE, Page 16

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Our farmers are conserving to help Colorado River By Tina Shields

long-term water supply for our area. IID’s proposal to increase its conser- vation program by 50% for four years has additional contingencies besides funding and voluntary participation, but no others are as vital to our community as a firm state and federal commitment to address and fund additional Salton Sea impacts from IID conservation activities. The inextricable linkage between the Colorado River and the Salton Sea is now well established, and if IID’s water conser- vation efforts increase, there will be direct reductions in agricultural return flows that drain to California’s largest inland lake. Over the past 20 years, the elevation of the Salton Sea has declined more than 10 feet, exacerbating salinity levels and ex- posing over 27,000 acres of playa that was previously underwater and now contrib- utes to environmental and public health concerns in adjacent disadvantaged com- munities. Much work has been done to address these issues, but more remains. IID believes that the key to accomplish- ing Reclamation’s call for 2 million to 4 mil- lion acre-feet of Colorado River reductions to protect critical reservoir elevations is to develop cooperative solutions that respect the Law of the River, existing agreements and the water-rights priority system. IID supports Reclamation’s interest in a collaborative solution to forestall regulato- ry actions and likely litigation. It is hopeful that California’s proposal to develop up to 1.6 million acre-feet of conservation over four years will be the first of the seven state plans to work toward this end with our ag- ricultural growers, other river stakehold- ers and the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of the Interior. (Tina Shields is the water department manager for the Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies Imperial Valley agriculture. She may be contacted at tlshields@iid.com.)

The Imperial Irrigation District, the larg- est irrigation district in the U.S., announced last month that it is prepared to un- dertake substan- tial water conser- vation measures from 2023 through 2026 as a part of California’s vol- untary proposal to create 400,000 acre- feet in water sav- ings per year to address drought impacts on the Colorado River. Tina Shields IID’s 250,000-acre-feet contribution accounts for more than 62% of California water agencies’ proposal to help pre- vent Lake Mead in Nevada and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona from falling to critically low elevations that would threaten water deliveries and power production in the near term. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is working with stakeholders in seven states that depend on Colorado River water to develop lon- ger-term operating guidelines to replace those expiring in 2025. The overall sustainability of the Colorado River is critical for IID as it enables a robust, year-round agricultural industry that grows food and fiber to sustain millions of people. IID growers in Imperial County produce much of the nation’s winter vegetables. In 2021, they maintained their status as lead- ers in the forage-crop industry, harvesting nearly 540,000 acres in total with a gross value estimated at $2.3 billion. With a harsh desert climate fed only by a river over 80 miles away, water conserva- tion is always on the minds of our Imperial Valley farmers, who demonstrate on a daily basis how to maximize water-use efficien- cies while increasing their yields.

An Imperial Valley farm irrigates winter vegetables with Colorado River water. The Imperial Irrigation District says farmers have reduced water use by 16% and are preparing another 8% cut.

Since 2003, IID has implemented and managed large-scale conservation pro- grams that have yielded over 7.2 million acre-feet of conserved water to fulfill the obligations of the nation’s largest agricul- ture-to-urban water conservation and transfer program. In the Imperial Valley, our growers are experts at not only growing food but conserving water, and they are to be commended for their efforts that have generated over 1.3 million acre-feet of that conservation since 2013. This was partic- ularly evident this year, as growers worked to supply surging agricultural markets and meet voluntary conservation targets, all while managing their field apportion- ments and farm unit water budgets. IID will continue to rely upon voluntary water-user participation in its conserva- tion programs, which will be largely depen- dent on sufficient funding. IID intends to apply for Inflation Reduction Act funding through Reclamation’s Lower Colorado Conservation and Efficiency Program 1B

solicitation process, after determining the program’s 1A payments of $330 to $400 per acre-foot of conservation were insuf- ficient to fund IID’s existing conservation program, let alone any expansion. As IID works with its growers to develop additional conservation opportunities, its priority will be to streamline and grow the efficiency-based conservation programs already in place. However, IID acknowl- edges it may have to consider seasonal or rotational fallowing programs to increase its total annual conservation yields from 500,000 acre-feet to an unprecedented 750,000 acre-feet, or 24% of its entitlement. The economy of the Imperial Valley is driven by agricultural production, with one in every six local jobs directly related to agriculture. Fallowing has long been considered a last option due to the nega- tive impacts it can have on communities. So IID would only consider this if abso- lutely necessary to stabilize the Colorado River system so it can remain a viable

VOL. 49, NO. 41

November 9, 2022

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2 Ag Alert November 9, 2022

Colorado River may require ‘decisive action,’ U.S. warns

and the Law of the River is followed,” said Rachel Magos, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau. Tina Shields, the district’s water depart- ment manager, said it is important to safe- guard the existing priority water rights sys- tem for the river, while seeking consensus on how to deal with the challenge. “IID supports Reclamation’s pursuit to seek a collaborative and consensus-based approach to addressing the drought to protect the Colorado River System,” Shields said.

She added, “The Colorado River is the Imperial Valley’s only water supply, so the initiation of a process to identify options to bring the system into balance is welcome.” Along with the IID, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Coachella Valley Water District and Palo Verde Irrigation District have told fed- eral officials they are prepared to jointly conserve water to protect the river. All but Metropolitan have senior water rights.

By Peter Hecht Federal officials have issued a thinly veiled threat to impose new cuts in wa- ter deliveries from the Colorado River if California and six other western states fail to reach a conservation agreement to pro- tect severely depleted reservoirs. The warnings from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation come after California water agencies proposed measures on Oct. 5 to curb their water consumption—despite being entitled to the largest share of water from the river. Four California water agencies offered to implement conservation measures to conserve an additional 400,000 acre- feet of water over each of the next three years. Some 250,000 acre-feet would come from the Imperial Irrigation District, which relies on the river water for the Imperial Valley’s robust winter vegetable farming economy. That would curb irrigation supplies by another 8% for farmers who have already cut water use by 16% since 2003. But federal officials demand 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in water savings to protect the river and keep Lake Mead—be- hind Hoover Dam in Nevada—from reach- ing “deadpool” status when no water could flow downstream. In an Oct. 28 notice, federal officials said they may need to curtail down- stream water releases from Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona. The move signals that federal officials may unilaterally impose additional water de- livery cuts. “The Interior Department continues to pursue a collaborative and consen- sus-based approach to addressing the drought crisis afflicting the West,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “At the same time, we are committed to taking prompt and decisive action neces- sary to protect the Colorado River system and all those who depend on it.” Haaland said, “Revising the current interim operating guidelines for Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams represents one of many critical departmental efforts underway to better protect the system in light of rapidly changing conditions in the basin.” Chris Scheuring, senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau, said the an- nouncement signaled federal officials’ willingness to intervene. “What is happening is that the states remain in disagreement with each other about who should cut back and at what amount, and the feds are developing a plan to take action without consensus, if necessary,” Scheuring said. The Colorado River provides water to seven states and Mexico, serving agri- culture and 40 million people. Shrinking water levels at Lake Mead triggered man- datory cuts in water deliveries this year for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico, but California was spared.

The Imperial Irrigation District deliv- ers 95% to 97% of its water to agriculture, triggering fears that farmers may have to fallow significant additional acreage if fed- eral officials override their senior water rights to the river. (See related commen- tary on Page 2.)

See COLORADO, Page 6

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November 9, 2022 Ag Alert 3

Dairy digesters use cow power to make clean energy By Ching Lee

dairy sector has cut 2.2 million met- ric tons of its total contribution of 7.1 million metric tons of carbon di- oxide-equivalent greenhouse gas, Mitloehner said. Researchers also continue to study ways to reduce the main source of meth- ane from dairies—enteric emissions from cow belching. Mitloehner noted a handful of feed additives have been shown to be “quite effective in reducing dairy methane without affecting perfor- mance of milk quality” when added to the cow’s diet. “If we continue on the current tra- jectory, we have calculated that we will achieve climate neutrality in this decade in our dairy sector,” he said. Fiscalini Farmstead in Modesto, which also operates a cheesemaking facility, was one of the state’s first adopters of digester technology. It in- stalled its first digester in 2008 and is now building a new one. Dairy farmer Brian Fiscalini described the old and current generations of digesters as analogous to the BlackBerry and the latest iPhones. Before 2002, fewer than five dairies operated digesters, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency. In those days, the biogas produced by the older digesters ran

With more than 100 methane digesters operating in California—and more than 100 others in various stages of develop- ment—the Golden State has become a leader in harnessing so-called “cow pow- er” to produce renewable fuels and other clean energy. In doing so, California dairies are re- ducing methane emissions from their farms and well on their way to becom- ing climate neutral—that is, getting to a point where they no longer cause addi- tional warming, said Frank Mitloehner, an air quality specialist at the University of California, Davis. “The whole world views us right now as a role model,” he said. Mitloehner made his remarks to a group of mainly legislative and state government staffers on their way to look at two Central Valley dairies with digester technology and a company that makes biofuels from dairy manure and other agricultural waste. The tours were arranged by the California Farm Bureau, California Bountiful Foundation and

Members of a tour group walk through Fiscalini Farmstead in Modesto. The dairy farm built its first methane digester in 2008 and is now building a new one to produce renewable biofuel.

California Cattle Council. Even though dairy manure digesters have been around for decades, their numbers have exploded in recent years thanks to state funding aimed at help- ing dairy farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The building of digesters

is a key part of the state’s strategy to cut methane emissions produced by dair- ies and other livestock. As required by Senate Bill 1383, the sectors must pro- duce 40% less methane than they did in 2013. To date, state digester projects have reduced emissions coming from some 200 dairy manure lagoons. They do this by placing covers over the lagoons to trap biogas that previously went into the air. This biogas is then turned into usable biofuel. In covering the lagoons, the state’s

See DIGESTER, Page 10

The Produce Safety Rule is Here; ARE YOU READY?

Farm Employers Labor Service (FELS), an aliated company of the California Farm Bureau (CAFB), has partnered with the Safe Food Alliance through a California Department of Food and Agriculture grant contract, as their designated training provider for Central and Southern California, to conduct the required Produce Safety training for growers. ALL TRAININGS BEGIN AT 8 AM September 7, 15 and 21:

THE UTILITY TRACTOR. REDEFINED. RETHOUGHT. RELENTLESS.

California Farm Bureau Harvest Room 2600 River Plaza Drive, Sacramento October 5: Glenn County Farm Bureau 831 5th Street, Orland November 15: Yolo County Farm Bureau 69 West Kentucky Ave., Woodland

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4 Ag Alert November 9, 2022

Analyst: ag exports could be affected by EU ‘Green Deal’

California exports $4.7 billion in almonds, $1.7 billion in pistachios, $1.2 billion in wal- nuts, and $832 million worth of rice. The state also ships $1.1 billion worth of wine abroad every year. Even before the European Green Deal, the EU enacted pesticide and MRL policies that could complicate and restrict export markets, Oliveira said. “They started using a hazard-based methodology,” Oliveira said. “When the EU is reviewing a chemical, they look to

adopted MRL standards in 2008, and China in 2010. “When there is an MRL change, the transition period is usually six months, which is not enough to cover products like wine,” Oliveira said. “We need to make sure that products that were treated legally remain legal.” She said a transition period is important for California farmers because many of the state’s leading export products are har- vested months or years before consumers use them.

By Bob Johnson An entirely different layer of pesticide regulations could eventually challenge California growers who want to export their products. That is the cautionary warning of Bryant Christie Inc., an international market ac- cess and foreign government affairs con- sulting firm. Alinne Oliveira, the firm’s deputy di- rector for global access, says a European Union policy directive—part of the EU’s “Green Deal”—could impact farm ex- ports by bringing about new pesticide residue standards. EU pesticide-reduction goals, endorsed by the European Commission, seek dra- matic reductions by 2030 in applications of pesticides and other chemical treatments on agricultural crops. “The European Green Deal calls for a 25% reduction in pesticides, a 20% reduc- tion in fertilizer and conversion of 25% of their agricultural land to organic produc- tion by 2030,” Oliveira said. “They want to make sure other countries also adopt the European policy, which could especially impact developing countries.” Oliveira made her remarks during the annual Sustainable Ag Expo and International Sustainable Winegrowing Summit in October. The event was spon- sored by the Central Coast Vineyard Team in San Luis Obispo County. Bryant Christie consults with growers who export, with a particular emphasis on pesticide and allowable maximum residue levels, or MRLs. They can vary from coun- try to country and change with little notice, Oliveira said. While the EU pesticide reduction goals are aspirational, the European Commission has approved a seven-year budget to sup- port European Green Deal programs. Oliveira said the EU’s considerable eco- nomic power could result in aggressive environmental standards in many parts of the world. If so, she said, a farmer could follow all the label regulations for apply- ing a material in California and meet the residue standards yet still have products rejected by important export markets. “If you are a grower and exporter, you can follow the label and do everything right,” Oliveira said. “But at the end of the day, if that crop is exported to a market where they have a different standard than the U.S., you may be faced with a challenge of not being able to export to that specific market. For some commodities like wine, it is really important to keep track of all the MRL changes.” The MRL issue is important for California farmers because export markets account for a large, increasing share of the state’s agricultural production. California farmers exported $20.8 billion in goods in 2020, up from $14.8 billion a decade earli- er, according to California Department of Food and Agriculture statistics. The basic international MRL standards are published in Codex Alimentarius,

which is jointly published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture organization and the World Health Organization. In 1999, the issue of international standards became more complex after Taiwan adopted its own national MRL list. Japan followed with a national list in 2006.Canada and the European Union

See EXPORTS, Page 9

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November 9, 2022 Ag Alert 5

Farm exporters air their frustrations at port hearing

By Peter Hecht California agricultural exporters met with members of Congress, the chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission and Port of Oakland officials last week, expressing concerns about continued supply-chain disruptions and difficul- ties getting California products onto out- bound ships. California tree-nut growers, in partic- ular, have been frustrated as stockpiles of

nuts have been stranded in warehouses. Meanwhile, they complained that ocean carriers were heading back to markets in Asia and elsewhere transporting empty shipping containers. The Port of Oakland has long been a crit- ical hub for California agricultural exports. But because of shipping delays from the port, California almond growers and pro- cessers this summer launched what they called the “almond express,” an alternate

rail transport system to move their goods from Oakland to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “We would love to go out of Oakland, but if Oakland continues to be dysfunc- tional or unattractive to the carriers, we’re going to have to go to where the car- riers are,” said Aubrey Bettencourt, pres- ident and CEO of the Almond Alliance of California. “And that means we are spending money to send loads across

the country to get them to our markets.” Some nut growers have reported ship- ping product by rail to ports as far away as Virginia to get products on ships to export markets. Bettencourt appeared at the Port of Oakland roundtable at Oakland’s Jack London Square along with Richard Matoian, president of the American Pistachio Growers, and Robert Verloop, ex- ecutive director and CEO of the California Walnut Board, and various farm processors and shippers. “We heard from agricultural exporters today, but that’s not the only exporters that are hurting as a result of the imbalances tak- ing place,” said U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, in a press conference held by members of Congress after the event. Other countries are readily importing products into the Oakland port, Garamendi said, “but when agriculture wants to export, gee, there’s no space available. There’s no containers available. You can’t get space on a ship that probably has 50% to 70% of con- tainers empty when it leaves California.” Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei, who spoke at the hearing, said getting empty containers to

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See PORT, Page 9

Colorado Continued from Page 3

Rights to Colorado River water are con- trolled by an interstate compact reached in 1922, which allocated the largest share of the river to California. Now the Bureau of Reclamation, in an- nouncing a notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental review of current operations, is signaling it may take emergency steps that could affect available water supplies. The environmental review will consider three alternatives with the most severe al- lowing for unilateral actions should states not sufficiently address current and pro- jected risks to the river system. This would revise rules that govern the “timing and volumes of potential water delivery reduc- tions” in lean water years. “We are taking immediate steps now to revise the operating guidelines to pro- tect the Colorado River System and sta- bilize rapidly declining reservoir storage elevations,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a state- ment. She said officials are working to “develop long-term, sustainable plans that reflect the climate-driven realities facing the Colorado River basin.” Last month, the Department of the Interior announced that $4 billion in funding was being allocated for water management and conservation efforts in the Colorado River basin. Farmers reduc- ing plantings or investing in water-saving irrigation systems may apply for grants to offset costs of conservation efforts. (Peter Hecht is chief editor of publications for the California Farm Bureau. He may be contacted at phecht@cfbf.com.)

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6 Ag Alert November 9, 2022

A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Trees & Vines ®

Visitors at Cobram Estate Olives farm in Woodland stand on top of an olive harvester during the Australian company’s “special VIP tour day” harvest celebration last month.

Aussie olive oil producer expands presence in state By Edgar Sanchez On day four of the nearly nonstop fall harvest at Cobram Estate Olives, a machine roared to life in an orchard near Woodland. produced from its California crop after harvest’s end in late November. With olive production varying between alternating low- and high-harvest years, the company said it hopes to turn out just over a million gallons next year.

Birds scattered in the olive trees lining 130 acres as the slow-moving harvester picked the fruit. Visitors wearing pink safety vests rode on the harvester’s overhead deck to view its handiwork as the 8-ton over-the-row machine performed the work of more than 100 laborers. Each tree briefly found itself in the harvester’s central chamber—roughly 15-feet wide, 14-feet tall—where nylon sabers on either side flicked back and forth, stripping fruit off the branches. The green olives dropped onto conveyor belts for rapid transfer to waiting trucks, ready to deliver the crop to an extra-virgin-olive-oil mill at the com- pany’s Woodland headquarters. At Cobram Estate, immediacy is paramount for producing extra-virgin olive oil. “Our olives go from tree to oil in four to six hours,” said James Clark, Cobram Estate’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Quality is the No. 1 thing we try to focus on.” Cobram is an Australian firm with a presence in California. The company projects a doubling of production from last year, with 450,000 to 500,000 gallons of olive oil

The orchard where the Cobram Estate harvest began is one of several owned by the company in the Woodland area. Comprising about 1,000 acres with more than 150,000 trees, these orchards grow in tandem with another 4,000 acres owned by Northern California farmers contracted by Cobram to create extra-virgin olive oil. The firm’s California production falls under its Cobram Estate USA operations. The state’s No. 1 producer, California Olive Ranch, has 4,600 acres of orchards in Corning, Artois and Oroville, and contracts another 4,000 acres. Chris Zanobini, executive director of the Olive Oil Commission of California, said Cobram now ranks third, behind Stockton-based olive oil producer Corto Olive Co. With its 32 California employees, including five from Australia, Cobram has emerged as a rising player in California olive oil production. In a media and “special VIP tour day” last month, Cobram Estate trumpeted its 2022 harvest, its olive oils

See OLIVE, Page 8

November 9, 2022 Ag Alert 7

Olive Continued from Page 7 and its aspirations for growth.

have people growing the fruit, and then there’s a co-op mill. So you take your fruit to the mill. The mill makes the oil and sells it out to brand. “Why does that matter?” Clark asked. “Because every time the fruit changes hands, there’s less focus on quality. And at every step, there are markups.” By controlling the process, he said, Cobram follows best practices while keep- ing its retail prices affordable nationwide. American consumers have a growing appetite for extra-virgin olive oil, partly because of its healthy attributes. Demand for California extra-virgin olive oil is out- pacing supply, Clark said. Against a backdrop of low extra-vir- gin olive oil supply growth, part of Cobram’s strategy is to aggressively persuade more independent olive growers to partner with it. Cobram contends that its planting techniques bring the partners greater yields. With California in its third year of drought and a fourth predicted for 2023, Cobram officials say they remain optimistic. Ciriaco Chavez, Cobram’s vice presi- dent of agriculture and industry affairs, noted that olives are an efficient crop for turning a drop of water into value. Amid California’s water challenges, “many growers and farmers are looking to plant olives as an alternative to oth- er crops because of their efficient water use,” Chavez said. “Olives only require 50% of the water that almonds and wal- nuts do.” Cobram’s drip-irrigation system delivers the precise amount, with no drenching. “Olives don’t like to be over-irrigated,” Chavez said. (Edgar Sanchez is a reporter based in Sacramento. He may be contacted at edgar.chez@yahoo.com.)

The company was founded in Australia in 1998 by Rob McGavin and Paul Riordan, who met in an agricultural col- lege there. Olives had never been a big crop down under, so the two Aussies took a gamble. It paid off. The company became a market leader in Australia’s extra-virgin olive oil industry. Eventually, McGavin and Riordan looked to expand. “They were looking for what was next,” Clark said. “And California is per- fectly aligned to grow olives” with its Mediterranean climate. Cobram Estate Woodland began oper- ations in 2015 as a standalone enterprise. Besides the mill, its 7-acre headquar- ters has an olive-testing lab, a bottling room and oil storage tanks—everything needed for extra-virgin olive oil produc- tion. The firm also has a nursery for its mother plants. “At the root of our business, we are farmers,” Clark said. “We own the land, we harvest it, we do the whole process. A lot of other brands you see in super- markets are just brands. They buy in- gredients from farmers somewhere else, they co-pack it and then send it to their marketing arm.” One of Cobram’s employees from Australia, Ebony Lanyon, has shuttled

Ebony Lanyon of Cobram delivers olives for milling. She shuttles between harvests in California and Australia.

between the Woodland farm and anoth- er Cobram olive farm in Boort, Australia, for the past five years. “This will be my 10th harvest” in both hemispheres, she said. Cobram is now marketing itself as a producer and player in California, where olives grown for oil are valued at $41.5 million a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. California olive oil production comes from some 45 olive mills and more than 400 farms total- ing over 37,000 acres. The Olive Oil Commission said grower-producers

accounted for 3 million gallons of ol- ive oil in 2021’s high-production year, up from 1.9 million gallons in 2020’s lower-yield cycle, but down from 3.6 million gallons in 2019. This year, production is expected to drop to 1.8 million gallons, with freeze impacting orchards in Colusa and Sutter counties. “Part of that is the alternating produc- tion, but cold weather we had in April also had a significant impact on the crop,” Zanobini said. At Cobram’s harvest celebration, guests were provided with panoramic views of orchards and the harvester, which operates 22 hours a day. They viewed a company video and heard pre- sentations on the firm’s commitment to freshly produced olive oil. Even in the Old World, where olive cul- tivation began thousands of years ago, freshness is often lost, Clark said. “Around the world, primarily in the Mediterranean and Spain, they have different people in each step of the olive oil production,” he said. “They

8 Ag Alert November 9, 2022

Port Continued from Page 6

wait times to load agricultural contain- ers onto chassis, equipment used to carry containers via trucks traveling between warehouses and ports. The Port of Oakland session also drew representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California State Transportation Agency and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. The hear- ing was led by Reps. Jim Costa, D-Fresno;

Mike Thompson, D-Napa; Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; and Garamendi . “It’s completely unacceptable how California agriculture is being treated in re- gards to getting their products to consum- ers,” Thompson said after the roundtable. “What you saw today was a commitment by all the members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state de- partment of agriculture and the (Maritime) Commission to ensure that we improve the situation.”

Bettencourt said she stressed in her presentation at the gathering that “the emphasis has to be on protecting not only our agricultural community but also the position of America in the world. “We’re still dealing with the repercus- sions” of the supply-chain crisis, she said. “And we need to get creative.” (Peter Hecht is chief editor of publications for the California Farm Bureau. He may be contacted at phecht@cfbf.com.)

farm exporters remains a problem. But he said the situation is improving, and port delays are “down substantially.” “We’ve expanded our audit program to promote exporters, and many of the ma- jor carriers have adopted comprehensive export strategies,” Maffei said. “Certainly, willingness to meet agricultural exporters halfway is much more prevalent in the in- dustry now than it was two years ago.” Joining members of Congress after the event, Maffei said, “The battle has been engaged. We need to restore balance.” He added, “It shouldn’t be a compe- tition between importers and exporters. Importers means more ships coming into the Port of Oakland and other ports in the United States. And that means more space. That space must be used by exporters fair- ly, and that’s what we’re going to do.” In June, President Joe Biden signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, legislation intended to help solve port congestion and shipping challenges. Among its provisions, the legislation seeks to speed movement of agricultural and other exports by requiring internation- al ocean carriers to report to the Federal Maritime Commission on how many emp- ty containers are being transported. The legislation also aims to curb rising shipping fees, including demurrage and detention charges, after shipping costs in- creased by more than 40% since last year. Bettencourt said some almond export- ers who spoke at the hearing “provided real-life examples of how we’re still getting rolled” by delays while trying to get prod- uct onto ships. She pointed to excessive

Exports Continued from Page 5

see if it is hazardous. If it is hazardous to human health or the environment, it can- not be used in the EU. They are not calcu- lating exposure; the EU does not do a full risk assessment.” Recently, the EU has begun applying this strict standard to entirely withdraw MRLs of some materials that are permitted in most of the world. Under World Trade Organization rules, nations can only restrict MRLs for reasons of human health. But the EU is challenging that interpretation, Oliveira said. “Neonicotinoids were banned for use in the European Union to protect bees,” Oliveira said. “In July, they moved toward restricting MRLs for some neonicotinoids, clothianidin and thiamethoxam.” Such decisions often have interna- tional consequences. “Regulatory changes that are estab- lished by the EU are often followed by other markets,” Oliveira said. “Whatever is established in Brussels is followed else- where, especially in developing countries.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)

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November 9, 2022 Ag Alert 9

Digester Continued from Page 4

One of the company’s most recent operational digesters is located at AC Machado Dairy in Crows Landing, the fi- nal stop on the tour. The 1,800-cow dairy completed construction on its digester in March. That Aemetis was able to get per- mitting for its 40-mile biogas pipeline in about a year “was a pretty remark- able feat,” Foster said. Working with Stanislaus and Merced counties, the company was able to put the pipeline in the public right of way alongside of the road with other utilities, which “saved us a lot of hassle of having to try to get easements from individual landowners,” he added. “By being in the public right of way, we have to be safer. We have to follow the same standards that the utilities have to follow,” Foster said. The first four miles of the pipeline cost $1 million a mile, with the last 40 miles costing $465,000 a mile, according to CEO Eric McAfee. Biogas pipelines are currently not regulated, said Robbie Macias, Aemetis’ vice president of biogas. But he said the company has “taken all the steps” through third-party engineer- ing inspections and testing to have a utility-grade pipeline “in the name of public safety.” (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)

engines that powered generators to produce electricity for use on the farm. Today, Fiscalini’s manure manage- ment and methane digestion remain about the same: The farm uses a flush system to collect the manure in a cov- ered lagoon. The manure is then piped to the digester to produce methane gas. But rather than creating electricity, the biogas is now converted to low-carbon fuel. Eventually, the fuel can be injected into a natural gas pipeline. Fiscalini said renewable fuels pro- duction tax credits available for this type of system are “far better” than for converting methane gas to electricity. Back when the farm built its first digest- er, there were no such credits or pro- grams available. “Producing electricity was kind of the only option that we had,” he said. Back then, the technology to convert methane gas to natural gas wasn’t prov- en or readily available, Fiscalini said. Also, the nearest natural gas pipeline was more than 2 miles away from the farm, and putting one in the ground would have cost $1 million a mile, plus an additional $2 million one-time fee to connect to Pacific Gas & Electric Co., he pointed out. While those costs hav- en’t changed much, the tax credits have changed to make such an investment feasible today, he added.

Robbie Macias, from left, vice president of biogas for Aemetis, with company President Andy Foster and CEO Eric McAfee stand on top of a covered lagoon where biogas is made at AC Machado Dairy in Crows Landing.

By shifting to making low-carbon fuel, he said, the dairy could potentially power a fleet of trucks and “work directly with somebody versus working with the utility grid system.” “California’s already pretty good at pro- ducing electricity,” he said. “For a dairy farm to try to become a utility doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.” The tour group then visited Aemetis’ ethanol biorefinery in Keyes, where biogas produced by Central Valley dairies is transported via its 40-mile un- derground pipeline. The biogas is then

upgraded to renewable natural gas and goes to PG&E via another pipeline. The biogas can also be used as a replace- ment fuel for diesel or converted to electricity to fuel electric vehicles, said Aemetis President Andy Foster. The company’s goal, Foster said, is to build 66 dairy digesters. About 30 dairies have signed up. Digesters on two dair- ies—with 1,800 cows and 3,700 cows— have been online since 2020. Five more are expected to come online by the end of the year, with five new ones starting construction next year, he said.

10 Ag Alert November 9, 2022

Groundwater Continued from Page 1 state department of water resources SGMA management office, told the California State Board of Food and Agriculture last week that 65 plans for 63 medium- and high-priori- ty groundwater basins were submitted in January 2022 and are being evaluated. For 21 of the most critically overdrafted ba- sins, DWR evaluated 46 plans submitted in January 2020. Of these, Gosselin said, the department approved plans for eight basins. Plans for 12 basins were found to be incomplete. The department deemed the plans for the Tulare Lake subbasin inadequate. For incomplete plans, Gosselin said agencies have six months from the date of the determination to resubmit and address inconsistencies or methodologies, such as issues related to subsidence, water qual- ity, drinking water impacts, depletion of interconnected surface water and lack of coordination among plans. “We are in the process of unpacking those (plans resubmitted in late July) and evaluating whether they met the deficien- cies or not,” Gosselin said. “There is no statutory deadline for us to complete the review, but we’re intending to do the lion’s share of it by the end of the calendar year. Some of the multiplan basins are probably not going to get a determination done until the first quarter of 2023.” The Tulare Lake subbasin, which cov- ers most of Kings County, was dropped to inadequate status because the two submitted plans did not have a required coordination agreement, Gosselin said. Plans found to be inadequate fall under the authority of the California State Water Resources Control Board. Gosselin said the state water board “asked us to complete our evaluation and to notify them whether the basin addressed all the deficiencies or not. In the meantime, the board notified us they would sit tight and not hold hearings and wait until they received notification on that plan.” Dusty Ference, executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau, said the inadequate determination by DWR comes as no surprise.

“The GSAs in the Tulare Lake subbasin had agreed on an updated plan after they were all essentially deemed incomplete back in January. When the GSAs needed to adopt their updated plan to address those deficiencies, one GSA accepted everything with one addition,” Ference said, adding that the addition means that the basin no longer had a coordinated plan. “We thought we had a plan that made sense to most growers; it was going to hurt a little bit, but everybody could live with it, and then boom—everything comes to a screeching halt,” he said. As SGMA plays out, Ference said, “Farmers are frustrated, they are worried, and they don’t know what to do.” He said with agriculture driving 25% of the county’s By Christine Souza Direct losses for California agriculture due to drought over the past two years are $3 billion, with $1.7 billion in losses this year and $1.3 billion in 2021, according to initial estimates from a study by the University of California, Merced. “Every drought is different,” said water resources management professor Josue Medellin-Azuara, who presented the initial study findings at a meeting of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture last week. “In this drought, from 2019 to 2022, the deficit concentrates in the northern portions of the state that are usually more wet and supply water to other areas of the state in the form of exports.” California is in the middle of one of the hottest, driest three-year periods on re- cord, Medellin-Azuara said, adding “this drought has been warmer and drier.” As many as 752,000 acres of farmland could be fallowed this year because of wa- ter shortages, he said.

workforce, those in agriculture remain con- cerned about rural communities. Gosselin said DWR has awarded $400 million during the past two years to help local groundwater agencies comply with SGMA requirements. Last May, each of the critically overdraft- ed basins received $7.6 million to imple- ment SGMA. The state is also advancing actions and projects, such as groundwater recharge projects. “We have a vested interest in ensuring that with the rains that are hopefully start- ing outside the window now and through the winter, that those projects that come in, we’ll be able to capture that water and start recharging basins,” Gosselin said. For projects that bolster the state’s water

supply and related infrastructure, Diedrich said, many farmers are concerned that there may be only a few wet years between now and the 2040s, when groundwater agencies must achieve sustainability. Diedrich said the state must be ready to capture excess flood water. He said agen- cies “are trying to develop projects locally, but these will be a very small amount com- pared to the amount of water that we need. “We’re talking about new canals and conveyance on top of new water rights,” he said. “It’s a very long-range project, longer than the amount of time we have to comply.” (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.) place to place and changing varieties in some cases to drought tolerant, but I think by the time horizon of SGMA, maintaining a healthy mix of permanent and perennial crops will help increase resilience at the local level,” he said. “We need to seize op- portunities to capture excess rainfall and flows and get those in the ground for facing future droughts.” Medellin-Azuara said crop insurance could also provide some relief for affect- ed farmers. Don Cameron, chair of the state board of food and agriculture, who farms in Fresno County, expressed a need to protect farmers and the food supply provided by California agriculture, adding that insur- ance does not cover many commodities. “California is very unique,” Cameron said. “Many of the crops either aren’t covered or don’t have preventative planting provisions.” (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)

Study: Drought toll for farms is $3 billion The report also shows extensive losses in the food-processing sector, with ini- tial estimates reaching nearly $6 billion in 2021 and 2022, and more than 12,000 lost jobs.

CDFA funded the report, which is antic- ipated to be released in the coming weeks. Medellin-Azuara said groundwater pumping increased in the Sacramento Valley this year, noting that the region ex- perienced less water and extensive fallow- ing of rice ground. The study found that groundwater pumping increased in some areas of the San Joaquin Valley. The cost to pump groundwater is estimated to be $123 mil- lion this year, compared to $184 million in 2021. Medellin-Azuara said drought raises challenges for the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires that local agencies bring ground- water aquifers into balance by the 2040s. “We’ve been very innovative in adapting our crop mix and transferring water from

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November 9, 2022 Ag Alert 11

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