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.
Pistachios prosper Growers optimistic about crop outlook
Fertilizer regulations New Central Coast reporting rules begin
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www.cfbf.com • www.agalert.com MARCH 8, 2023
Trees & Vines ®
special report
By Christine Souza California water officials delivered a mixed report card last week on local plans to curb overpumping of ground- water to protect the state’s aquifers in critical overdraft. The California Department of Water Resources recommended six San Joaquin Valley groundwater sustain- ability plans for approval but rejected six others as inadequate. Under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, local agencies must implement groundwater plans that demonstrate how they intend to balance the state’s challenged groundwa- ter supplies within a 20-year timeframe. DWR said six plans were missing infor- mation that the state needs to determine compliance. The department said plans must show a roadmap for how ground- water basins will achieve long-term sus- tainability by limiting overdraft, land sub- sidence and impacts to drinking water. In its technical review, the agen- cy found that sufficient action has not been taken to address one or more de- ficiencies in the following subbasins: Chowchilla subbasin, Delta-Mendota subbasin, Kaweah subbasin, Kern County subbasin, Tulare Lake subbasin and Tule subbasin. The inadequate determination triggers the state intervention process, which authorizes the California State Water Resources Control Board to step in to manage the basin. “All the basins that resubmitted did an extensive amount of work attempt- ing to address the deficiencies,” said Paul Gosselin, deputy director of the DWR Sustainable Groundwater Management Office. “It is a complicated act to imple- ment, but we did take an objective look at what they resubmitted. “Whether plans are approved or inade- quate and under state board intervention,” State declares six aquifer plans as out of compliance
Despite storms, water challenges persist the 61st California Irrigation Institute Annual Conference. With a theme of “One Water: Partnering for Solutions,” the event focused on addressing impacts of climate change, including warming conditions and frequent droughts that severely diminish the snowpack and state water supplies. New snow blankets the landscape of Shasta Lake, California’s largest reservoir. Last week, California water officials announced that the statewide Sierra Nevada snowpack was recorded at 190% of seasonal average on March 3. Meanwhile, at a water conference, state officials warned they expect warming conditions to persist and called for partnering on water supply solutions.
By Christine Souza As still more storms dumped new snow onto California’s burgeoning snowpack, water managers, farmers and environ- mentalists gathered in Sacramento last week to discuss long-term challenges to secure a more certain water future. The fresh snowfall contrasted with challenging water realities discussed at
that some speakers said could be aided through partnerships among different water interests. “We’ve certainly adopted a one wa- ter approach, and that really is breaking down the silos within our own utility and then taking that same approach as we think about building partnerships
See WATER, Page 13
The gathering emphasized solutions
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See AQUIFERS, Page 9
Sustaining food production is key to pesticide policy By Scott Dahlman
We believe that growers are best equipped to determine which product works for their situation. They should have as many options in the toolbox as possible. We all saw how the cancellation of chlorpyrifos left some growers without any pesticide options for certain pest and crop combinations. It is important that these impacts are considered during the review process. Another concern with the roadmap is how the “priority pesticide” list would be determined. The workgroup could not agree on a set of criterion. It will be left to DPR, with guidance from a newly created advisory body. We are hopeful that this ad- visory panel will include scientific exper- tise and members representing growers, registrants and pest control advisors who can provide perspectives on how and why certain pesticides are used. As registrants, we know how important it is to work with our grower allies as we look towards the future of pesticide use in California. That is why we partnered with the California Farm Bureau and other grow- er groups to form the Californians for Safe Pesticide Policy coalition, or CSPP. Together, we have commissioned several economic studies that highlight the impact of some of the policies in the roadmap to bring real economic data to the conversation. We look forward to continuing our work with the California Farm Bureau and the broader CSPP coalition to help ensure California farmers have access to pesti- cides they need to continue to grow a safe and sustainable food supply for consumers in California and around the world. (Scott Dahlman is director of state government affairs for CropLife America and chair of Californians for Safe Pesticide Policy. He may be contacted at sdahlman@croplifeamerica.org.)
On Jan. 26, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation released its “Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap.” This 97-page document is the culmination
of a nearly two-year process in which DPR engaged a 33-member stake- holder committee to look at the future of pest manage- ment in California. The concept of “sustainable pest management”
Scott Dahlman
The Californians for Safe Pesticide Policy coalition is working to ensure the state’s “Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap” provides viable options for protecting crops.
grew out of a desire by California regu- lators to create a solution in search of a problem. California growers have em- braced integrated pest management, or IPM, for decades, a proven approach to sustainably managing their farms and only using pesticides when and where necessary and in the smallest amounts possible. The new roadmap for sustain- able pest management attempts to apply additional standards above and beyond existing IPM practices. The roadmap outlines priorities that will likely result in sustainable pest man- agement being adopted throughout California. It incorporates considerations of economic benefits, gives attention to community impacts and equity issues, wa- ter conservation, biodiversity, soil health and climate. Its “keystone actions” are made up of some items we agree with and others that concern us. The pesticide industry agrees with proposals that would put more resourc- es into preventing new invasive pests and eliminating current ones. This work could help reduce the pest pressures on California crops.
We support efforts to improve DPR’s reg- istration process. For too long, California growers have had less access to pesticides than their counterparts across the coun- try. Nearly every state relies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review of pesticides to make their registration de- cisions. The EPA reviews hundreds of stud- ies for each pesticide, analyzing the data on impacts on unintended species, the environment and risks to human health. Once the EPA determines a pesticide poses no unreasonable impacts or risks, the product is submitted to states for reg- istration. Uniquely, in California, DPR requires submission of many of those same studies for state review. This can take three to six years or more, resulting in California pesticide users not having access to products neighboring states ap- proved years earlier. We won’t debate this additional review, but it is clear DPR’s process must be more efficient so that California growers have access to pesticides sooner. Steps such as moving to an electronic submission and
tracking system would put DPR on par with EPA. Identifying bottlenecks and adjusting resources to improve efficiency also would help. We appreciate that California officials are engaged in creation of that system now. Bringing new, innovative and more target- ed products to market should be seen as a boon to sustainable pest management, and everything that can be done to accel- erate the process should be considered. Our concerns focus on the roadmap’s goal to identify “priority pesticides” and eliminate their use by 2050. The industry is committed to innovation and is constantly working to bring new products to market. Innovations increase productivity, allow farmers to use fewer and more targeted pes- ticides, and reduce environmental impacts. While we will continue to work to bring those new products forward, current pes- ticides are still important, as they provide pest control when circumstances dictate that they are the best option. The fear is that the rush to eliminate certain pes- ticides may leave some growers with no viable options to protect their crops.
VOL. 50, NO. 10
March 8, 2023
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2 Ag Alert March 8, 2023
Pistachio growers hopeful about potential record crop
pistachio crop still would not rival state almond production, which has reached more than 3 billion pounds. The price of almonds has plummeted in recent years, making the nut unprofitable to grow for many farmers. Pistachio prices have held, Hundal pointed out. From September 2022 to January 2023, overall pistachio shipments jumped 1.9% year over year, Matoian said. Though do- mestic shipments dropped by 2.4%, ex- ports rose 3.9%. These numbers are pos- itive, he said, “especially when you think about other commodities and difficulties
and troubles they’ve had.” It helps that current worldwide pis- tachio production is off by about 10%. Production in Iran—the world’s No. 2 producer and the U.S.’s main competi- tor—has become “more erratic” in recent years, Matoian noted. Like California, the Middle Eastern nation has been plagued by drought, causing it to lose 20,000 to 40,000 acres a year, he said. With Chinese tariffs on U.S. pista- chios, Iran—which does not have tariffs
By Ching Lee Considering the waning profitability of almonds and walnuts, pistachio growers are upbeat about prospects for the state’s current “it” crop. More rainfall this season has eased the multiyear drought, with improved water allocations for farms. The colder winter has also provided adequate chill- ing hours for pistachio trees to produce flowers and fruit. With more pistachio trees coming online this year, growers appear on pace to produce a record crop that could top 1.2 billion pounds, accord- ing to Richard Matoian, president of the American Pistachio Growers. “On the surface, the outlook appears to be positive,” he said, though he warned “a lot can happen and has happened in the past between what we believe and where we end up.” At the association’s annual conference in Carlsbad last week, Matoian shared his thoughts on the state of the industry, highlighting what helps growers sleep at night and what keeps them up. On the rosy side, there’s less inven- tory this year due to the lighter crop in 2022, when production hit more than 878,000 pounds. 2022 was con- sidered an “off” year in the trees’ alter- nate-bearing cycle and was preceded by two previous bountiful crops, yields of which reached more than 1 billion pounds. The record 2021 crop produced more than 1.15 billion pounds. After two years of port congestion that led to delayed and stranded shipments of agricultural exports, Matoian noted those problems have largely been resolved. The quality of U.S. pistachios remains a “ma- jor selling point worldwide,” he said, as are the nut’s health benefits. Pistachio marketers continue to make inroads with consumers, who have become more fa- miliar with the nut, he added. But challenges remain on the trade front. Retaliatory tariffs in China from the Trump-era trade war remain, elevating the price of U.S. pistachios. The strong dollar has added to the pain, making the product even more expensive. The po- tential for a worldwide recession could further wreck sales, Matoian said. Even though port traffic has improved, not all shipping issues have gone away, Matoian said. Any number of supply chain problems could strain the avail- ability of pesticides, fertilizers and other materials, hurting pistachio production and sales. The U.S. remains the world’s top pista- chio producer, a title it has held for more than a decade. About 99% of the crop is grown in California, with 2023 bearing acres at just fewer than 454,000. Total state acreage stands at about 590,000, including 135,000 nonbearing acres. Even with the potential for a record crop this year, Bikram Hundal, a pista- chio grower and handler with orchards in Tulare, Kings and Madera counties, said he is not worried about finding markets
for the nut—provided shipping problems don’t return. “That was the one factor that really jeopardized the overall sales for all the tree nuts,” said Hundal, who also grows and processes almonds. Should growers produce more than 1 billion pounds this year, he said, the
See PISTACHIOS, Page 10
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March 8, 2023 Ag Alert 3
Tech firm aids Salinas Valley farmers after flooding By Caitlin Fillmore
network of local and regional farmers across California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Some tech companies associated with the center chose to relocate to Salinas, Donohue said. Two companies producing autonomous agricultural robots—Farmwise Lab Inc. and Naio Technologies—now call Salinas home. Others in the center’s list of three doz- en affiliated startups are headquartered outside the Salinas Valley but connect to the Western Growers network through this hub. Others, such as renewable energy company Concentric Power, and Heavy Connect, a mobile app to assist produc- ers with regulatory compliance, now op- erate out of the center, Donohue said. GeoVisual Analytics had no connec- tion to Salinas Valley agriculture before partnering with the technology center. Soon, the company was making connec- tions with farmers, said McGregor, noting the center “is how I met most of our cus- tomers in the first place.” He added, “It’s hard for us to do what we did without them in some ways.” McGregor said the firm was founded to help farmers “digitize their expertise.” But he credits the Salinas technology center with helping GVA “speak the right
After January’s deluge of atmospheric storms breached berms and levees on the Salinas River, flooding more than 20,000 acres of Monterey County farm fields, growers turned to technology to help as- sess the damage and determine which crops were salvageable. GeoVisual Analytics, a Denver firm that opened in the Salinas Valley vege- table-growing region in 2017, got busy mining its trove of digital data to help guide farmers. Growers in the famed Salad Bowl look to the firm’s technology to help forecast planting and inspect crops, us- ing drones and NASA-funded artificial intelligence algorithms. By layering maps of the flooding dam- age with the digital maps of a grower’s land, GVA helped farmers quickly assess which areas faced the highest risk for crop damage, the company said. Charles McGregor, GVA general manager, said the technology offered farmers a sophisticated data-gathering
Floodwaters from the Salinas River pour into Monterey County farmland during January storms. Afterward, digital data helped some farmers determine which crops could be saved and which were lost.
service as an alternative to “everybody running around, manually inspecting and hoping.” The company is one of several firms that operate out of the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology,
which is housed at Taylor Farms’ head- quarters in Salinas. Dennis Donohue, executive director of the center, said GVA is an example of the type of companies the center has helped attract, so farmers can benefit from new technologies. “The basic idea is to get a company to the right people,” Donohue said. The center serves as an agricultur- al business incubator and networking hub for members of Western Growers Association, a nearly 100-year-old
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See TECHNOLOGY, Page 11
The Produce Safety Rule is Here; ARE YOU READY?
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4 Ag Alert March 8, 2023
New fertilizer management rules begin in Central Coast
By Bob Johnson A moment of truth has arrived for Central Coast vegetable growers, who face the challenge of meeting fertilizer water quality regulations that will steadily grow stricter between now and 2051. March 1 marked the beginning of the first year that growers in impacted areas will have to record and report fertilizer applications under rules approved in 2021 by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. The first year, the regulations will al- low 500 pounds of nitrogen per acre to be applied over and above what is removed with the crop. Under the water board’s Ag Order 4.0, the rules will grow steadi- ly stricter until 2051, when the standard tightens to a maximum of 50 pounds of nitrogen per acre after crop removal. “We have sampled 4,000 ranch wells and a third of them came back above 10 parts per million nitrate-nitrogen, which is the safe drinking water stan- dard,” said Sarah Lopez, executive di- rector of Central Coast Water Quality Preservation Inc. The group is an inter- mediary between area growers and the water board. Lopez joined researchers, growers and regulators in discussing the new
rules—and how to meet them—during a meeting in Salinas last month on irri- gation and nutrient management. The event was sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension. Regulations are particularly strict on the Central Coast, where regional water officials set discharge requirements for irrigated lands to protect water quality in underground aquifers that people rely on for drinking water. “Our region is unique in that we get about 90% of our drinking water from groundwater,” said Jillian Flavin, envi- ronmental scientist at the regional board. Many regional vegetable growers al- ready meet the standard allowing appli- cation of 500 more pounds of nitrogen than is removed at harvest. But the in- creasing standards over the next three decades could be challenging. When Central Coast water officials ap- proved the rules for reporting fertilizer applications, they noted that the region produces multiple crops per acre per year, with high-value commodities such as lettuce, spinach, broccoli and straw- berries requiring significant nitrogen. “If you apply 2 inches of well water that is 30 parts per million nitrate-nitrogen, that is almost 14 pounds of nitrogen per
A lettuce field is irrigated in the Salinas Valley. Farmers in the region now have to report their fertil- izer applications under new mandates of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.
acre,” said Michael Cahn, UCCE irrigation farm advisor. The nitrogen in the irrigation water can climb to 100 pounds an acre or more— and growers will have to include that information in their fertilizer budgets to meet the regulations. Fertilizer budgets will also have to account for nitrogen al- ready in the root zone and available to the crop. Cahn advised growers to “estimate the crop uptake over the next 10 days, sub- tract what will be in the water and what is already in the root zone” to get their fertilizer need.
Nitrogen in the water and topsoil can be calculated using test strips. But effi- cient irrigation management is needed to keep these nutrients in the root zone and available to the crop, while keeping them from leaching deeper. More precise fertilizer and water appli- cations will be enough to meet the regu- lations in the early years, but additional steps will be needed as the rules grow more strict, some regional producers say. “Cole crops in your rotation are a big resource because they have the ability
See FERTILIZER, Page 15
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March 8, 2023 Ag Alert 5
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A SPECIAL GROWERS’ REPORT OF AG ALERT ® CALIFORNIA Trees & Vines ®
Katie Reneker, founder of Carmel Berry Co., harvests elderflowers in the Salinas Valley. Native blue elderberries, which can grow 20 feet tall without pruning, are drawing interest as a possible niche crop.
Native shrub may have a future as commercial crop By Caitlin Fillmore
“It can be super frustrating to be the first person to try things. I can’t even describe how much has been lost,” said Reneker, who has since emerged as an advocate and mentor for elderberry farming in California. “But all the failures I experienced in those three years were super helpful in switching to (thinking), ‘How can we move the native blue elderberry forward?’ Instead of us starting all over, we would support other growers.” Small-scale elderberry production is luring other upstart growers, said Sonja Brodt, the agriculture and environment coordinator for the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. While limited numbers of farmers use the plant for hedgerows for other crops, ambitious elderberry producers are looking to capitalize on natural hedges on their land to sell value-added products to restaurants or consumers. Brodt said it is hard to determine the amount of the crop produced in the state because elderberries don’t fall under traditional farming metrics. “This is a wild, unbred plant with no cultivars (and) has no known consistency of production that
Katie Reneker discovered the natural immune-boosting properties of elderberries in 2015, trading homemade syrups with her Carmel Valley neighbors who let her forage for the native plant. That inspired her to produce elderberries, as she looked to commercialize what has been largely a wild shrub hardly seen as a potential cash crop in California. As her idea grew into a business, about a dozen local farmers agreed to establish small trial plots. By 2017, a farmer in southern Monterey County offered to help Reneker plant 3 acres of American elderberries, a Midwestern cultivar prized for its pest resistance and strong, uniform yield. The niche crop, which grows abundantly throughout Europe and the Midwest commercially and as a native plant, has never successfully been cultivated on a production scale for West Coast consumers. In 2020, after three years, Reneker’s first commercial elderberry crop was ready. Her 3 acres of elderberries, planted in the county’s Greenfield community, sold right before the first crop of berries matured. The new venture was launched, even if it was suddenly out of supply and needing to grow.
See ELDERBERRIES, Page 8
March 8, 2023 Ag Alert 7
you normally look for in a commercial crop,” she explained. Though large-scale demand for com- mercial production is lacking, Brodt said there is immediate potential from small elderberry businesses that source fresh, local products. Reneker is a case in point. She es- tablished Carmel Berry Co. to share American-sourced elderberry and el- derflower products to customers looking for artisanal superfoods. The majority of elderberry and elderflower products available in the U.S. are imported from Europe and sold dried. But Reneker sources fresh berries domestically and freezes them. “Elderberries taste a heck of a lot better when it comes fresh instead of dried,” Reneker said. “I believe food is our medicine, and healthy things should be delicious.” Small, round elderberries grow in compact clusters within large shrubs or hedges that can reach more than 6 feet tall. The berries taste like a potent, flavorful cross between a sweet, juicy blueberry and a tart pomegranate. Elderflowers are small, delicate white blooms that taste like “summer sun- shine,” Reneker noted. Reneker now purchases 8,000 pounds of elderberries and 20 pounds of dried Elderberries Continued from Page 7
Katie Reneker, left, has emerged as an advocate and mentor for elderberry farming in California. Her Carmel Berry Co., which partners with local farmers growing the native plant, markets elderflower products, below, including preserves, syrups, teas, vinegars and herbal supplements, to customers looking for artisanal superfoods. Currently, most elderberry and elderflower products available in the U.S. are imported from Europe. In California, the plant has mostly been used as a hedgerow for other crops.
flowers from American producers each year. These become Carmel Berry pre- serves, syrups, teas, balsamic vinegars and liquid herbal supplements. They are sold in specialty grocery stores, includ- ing Whole Foods in Northern California, Market of Choice in Oregon and Erewhon
in Southern California. But the prod- ucts all come from elderberries sourced outside the West Coast, which presents Reneker’s next ambitious goal. After she said goodbye to the 3 acres in Greenfield, Reneker set out to uncover the possibilities for native elderberries here in California. A former teacher, Reneker transitioned to a role collabo- rating with advocates, mentors and re- searchers such as UC’s Brodt to advance studies and awareness of the native West Coast blue elderberry, or Sambucus caerulea. More than 300 people participated in online workshops held by Reneker during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more workshops are being scheduled. Reneker also independently funds $500 microgrants to fund projects such as fencing or irrigation for growers inter- ested in diversifying with elderberries. Carmel Berry has given away $12,000 in microgrants so far. Brodt said she does not envision elder- berry growth as endless rows of plants grown in a commercial operation but rather a creative, “multi-objective” solu- tion. She said the plant may hold the potential for providing direct income to
small- and medium-size farms and ben- efiting the ecosystem. Native elderberry hedgerows provide habitat for diverse wildlife and efficiently store carbon within its dense interior, ac- cording to the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website. Brodt said these plants offer an “adaptation advantage” in a changing climate, growing in various elevations and a range of temperatures. “We know there is not enough hedge- row planting in general, whether it is elderberry or other native plants,” Brodt said. She mentioned California Department of Food and Agriculture grants as possible funding sources for planting hedgerows. Reneker said she sees continued col- laboration as the key to establishing a prosperous future for the blue elderberry. “We’re still really on the frontier of grow- ing elderberries commercially on the West Coast. It makes no sense for all of us to re- invent the wheel individually,” Reneker said. “I love to work with farmers willing to diversify and grow something new.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslfillmore@gmail.com.)
Seats open on organic panel
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is seeking to fill vacan- cies on the California Organic Products Advisory Committee. The panel advises the CDFA secretary on topics related to the California State Organic Program, or SOP. Current advisory committee vacan- cies include: producer representative; wholesale distributor representative; processor representative; environmental representative; technical representative;
consumer representative; producer representative alternate; wholesale dis- tributor representative alternate; pro- cessor representative alternate; retail representative alternate; environmental representative alternate; technical repre- sentative alternate; consumer represen- tative alternate; and accredited certifier representative alternate. To be considered for an appointment, complete the questionaire at cdfa. ca.gov/is/organicprogram/pdfs/copac/ COPAC-PMAQ.pdf.
8 Ag Alert March 8, 2023
Aquifers Continued from Page 1
Eastern San Joaquin subbasin, Kings subbasin, Merced subbasin, Paso Robles subbasin and the Westside subbasin in Fresno and Kings counties. These basins will work with DWR and report on prog- ress in implementing plans and complet- ing any corrective actions. In response to DWR’s recommen- dation of approval for the plan for the Westside subbasin, Jeff Fortune, pres- ident of the Westlands Water District board of directors, said, “This result reflects a great deal of time and dedi- cation from Westlands’ staff and board of directors who worked diligently and collaboratively with DWR to build a groundwater sustainability plan that will achieve the Westside Subbasin’s sustainability goals.” DWR said the agencies whose plans were recommended for approval conduct- ed critical analysis of groundwater levels, water quality and inter-connected surface waters to develop and refine sustainable groundwater management criteria. Plans are to be updated over time as new data and information becomes available and as conditions change in groundwater basins. DWR will review annual reports from local agencies and assess plans every five years to deter- mine whether they are on track to meet sustainability goals. The California Farm Bureau, Johansson
said, will work with state and local agencies, county Farm Bureaus and agricultural groundwater users “on workable solu- tions to sustain healthy aquifers.” “Our groundwater supplies are critical for California farmers, including vegeta- ble, fruit, nut and dairy producers who account for much of America’s food sup- ply,” Johansson said. “It is important that California carefully considers solutions that protect both our aquifers and our food production.” Of a total 94 groundwater basins re- quired to submit plans under SGMA, state water officials provided deter- minations for 24 basins and is review- ing an additional 61 plans from 59 of California’s high- and medium-priority basins submitted to DWR in January 2022. DWR said it anticipates issuing de- terminations for the remaining basins throughout 2023. Critically overdrafted basins each re- ceived $7.6 million in grant funding to aid in plan implementation. DWR’s LandFlex program, state drought assistance pro- grams and the California Department of Conservation’s Multibenefit Land Repurposing program are trying to help critically overdrafted basins reduce their dependence on groundwater. (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
we are already working on resolution,” he said. “While we fix these issues, we are trying to figure out how we move out of this condition and away from pro- bation or failure (which could lead to a takeover of the GSA),” said Hagman, general manager of Lindmore Irrigation District, a federal water contractor in the Friant Division. If deficiencies are not remedied within a year, the board, after a subse- quent notice and hearing, may develop and adopt an interim plan to manage the basin’s groundwater use. An in- terim plan is a temporary measure to protect groundwater resources in the basin until GSAs are able to manage the basin sustainably. “There are a number of board deci- sions that need to be made about how this process will move forward and when,” said Natalie Stork, state water board supervising engineering geol- ogist of the groundwater management program. “If the board puts the basin on probation, then it will focus on collecting the information it needs to develop and implement its own plan to manage the basin. During this time, the board will collect data and fees while local agencies work to fix their plans.” DWR recommended the following six basins for approval: Cuyama basin,
he added, “we are looking to have the ba- sins continue with implementation.” Calling passage of SGMA “a seismic shift in California water,” California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said, “It was never going to be easy to transi- tion on a timeline of just 20 years to elim- inate an estimated 2.5 million acre-feet of overdraft a year in our most impacted areas of the state.” “This action will trigger a process be- fore the water board that will afford local agencies additional opportunities to ad- dress identified problems, regain con- trol of their basins and, hopefully, avoid formal probationary status or the impo- sition of eventual state interim plans,” Johansson said. Local groundwater sustainability plans, or GSAs, must implement near- term actions, such as expanding moni- toring programs, reporting annually on groundwater conditions,implementing aquifer recharge projects and design- ing allocation programs. Once plans are implemented locally, measures must continue even if basins are under state intervention. Michael Hagman, executive director of the East Kaweah GSA, one of three GSAs in the Kaweah subbasin, said the local agency accepts the DWR’s finding. “The department’s decision makes sense, and
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Pistachios Continued from Page 3
pistachio growers is the “tremendous amount of new acres coming into pro- duction,” Matoian said. State acreage increased 20% between 2020 and 2022, from 371,386 to 446,000 acres. While it took 40 years for production to reach 1 billion pounds, he said he expects it will balloon to 2 billion pounds in the next 10 years. “What effect all this additional acreage and growth has on the industry remains to be seen,” he said. “There’s an argument
to say consumers want our product, and we’re going to be just fine. But there’s also another argument that there’s going to be too much on the marketplace.” Calling the growth numbers “scary,” Madera County grower Chris Wylie said the race to add new acreage does con- cern him. He also grows almonds and has seen how prices have responded to the increasing acreage. He said he wonders at what point pistachio prices will take the same dive. But he noted pistachio
brokers and nut processors tell him the market can take a 2-billion-pound crop “and still be OK.” “I hope they’re right,” said Wylie, who added that overplanting “does worry me though.” Pistachios prices have already fallen, said Thom Dille, CEO of Little Creek Inc., which grows pistachios in Kern County. He noted that in 2020, the base price be- fore bonuses was $1.85 a pound, and this year it’s a $1.38. Meanwhile, his production costs have more than doubled in 10 years. In 2010, it cost him $1.2 million to produce the crop. In 2020, his costs rose to $2.5 mil- lion, with much of the increase related to water. With the drought and the lack of water deliveries to farms, he’s had to buy water on the open market at about $1,000 an acre-foot; that’s compared to the normal rate of $220 an acre-foot in Kern County. In planning for restrictions on ground- water pumping, Dille said the company bought an old almond orchard that it has fallowed, so that it can use the wa- ter allocations from that property for its pistachios. All this adds to the expense of producing the nut. With the rising cost of labor, chemicals and other inputs, he said it begins to make pistachios unprofitable. “We seem to be better off than al- monds, but it used to be much more profitable,” Dille said. Even so, Dille said he remains optimis- tic about producing a larger-size quality crop this year with the assumption that he will receive perhaps not a full alloca- tion of water “but certainly the best one in probably 10 years.” (Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.) Pistachio study shows economic impacts of crop The surge in bearing acres for pista- chios has helped drive an economic boom in the sector, with growers and pro- cessors contributing more than $6.4 bil- lion to the state’s economy, according to a new study commissioned by American Pistachio Growers. California pistachio bearing acreage jumped from 371,386 in 2020 to 446,000 in 2022. The acreage increase spurred grower and processor spending of more than $513.8 million, the study found. Overall spending by the sector helped create 55,100 full-time jobs and nearly $3 billion in labor income in 2022, the study said. Grower and processor spending totaled nearly $3.5 billion annually, or the equiv- alent of more than $9.5 million per day in 2022. Total economic output by the pista- chio industry topped $6.4 billion, an aver- age of more than $17.6 million every day, impacting other sectors such as real es- tate, professional services, construction, insurance and retail, the study reported.
on pistachios going to China—has tak- en that market, becoming its top suppli- er, Matoian said. Meanwhile, U.S. pis- tachio exports to China have plunged 21.5%. Some of the lost sales have been offset by growth in the European Union, the top destination for U.S. pistachios. Exports to the EU have increased 9.2%, Matoian noted. The potential danger for California
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10 Ag Alert March 8, 2023
language” and meet critical partners in the farming region. In the beginning, he acknowledged, his firm “thought we could do things we couldn’t.” “We didn’t deliver,” McGregor said. “We had to learn more about what (farm- ers) wanted,” he said. “Luckily, those customers say we actually listened, and we gave them what they wanted. They don’t mind if you fall down as long as you admit it.” After the January storms, McGregor said GVA was in position to aid growers and do so in a common language. He said the firm was able to answer questions such as “how do I allocate personnel and talent to the right places and test the right soil to know the highest risk area?” “When transitioning after a weather event, we helped them make decisions about which fields to keep,” he said. GVA typically serves large-scale growers, shippers and processors, and McGregor said the company hopes to expand to include more commodi- ties outside of vegetable and specialty crops and be a more feasible option for small producers. McGregor describes GVA’s technol- ogies as “boots-on-the-ground tools.” But transitioning to agricultural clients with actual boots on the ground has been a process. He said his farming clients run the full spectrum, with some using Technology Continued from Page 4
demands that farmers juggle daily. McGregor said he sees more farmers getting excited to make data-driven deci- sions and using advanced technologies, such as drones, to capture information. The willingness of agricultural partners to evolve and adapt to technology influ- enced the company to embrace a new philosophy, which includes making sure its technology team understands farmers, their needs and the burdens they face.
“We kept thinking, ‘How come they’re not interacting with forecasts six weeks out?’ Because they are drowning in today and tomorrow’s problems,” McGregor said. “Sometimes all the cool analytics we build are the cart before the horse. Also, we need to make sure people go to the right field.” (Caitlin Fillmore is a reporter based in Monterey County. She may be contacted at cslhfillmore@gmail.com.)
spreadsheets and others sticking to pen and paper records. “I know guys who can forecast lettuce … They give me a number and they just know,” McGregor said. “But the younger population isn’t going to do it that way.” He said new technologies mean that “the new person coming in doesn’t have to forecast for 50 years to figure it out.” Another lesson the agricultural tech- nology firm learned was about the varied
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March 8, 2023 Ag Alert 11
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