Plans Continued from Page 1
“I amplantingmore for thehomekitch- en than for chefs,” he said, noting that the restaurant trade still “has not picked up” and that he thinks it’s “at least another year away”beforesales tothat sector improve to pre-pandemic levels. In trying to cater his crops for CSA and home-delivery customers, Birch said he’s cut back on specialty vegeta- bles and herbs favored by chefs. He’s also growing more varieties of certain crops. For example, instead of the two main varieties of potatoes that restau- rants “really liked,” he’s growing sev- en different kinds. Whereas he used to grow three types of cherry tomatoes popular with chefs, he will now grow about 15 varieties, many of them larger, heirloom tomatoes. Even though he sold just 25% to 30% of what he grew last year—with much of it disked under—Birch said he plans to farm all his acreage this year, as he adds more outlets. Thoughthestate’shistoricalwater issues weigh “heavily” on what crops and how many acres are planted, Matt Linder, who manages Western region sales for Sakata SeedAmerica, said “themore concerning issue” is thepandemic’scontinuing impact on foodservice,with thesector still not ful- ly serving and ordering products. He noted “a significant decline” in con- ventional spinachacreage, thoughorganic spinach acreage “has remainedmore sta- ble.” Plantings for other leafy greens such as chardandmizunaalsohave “takenahit
due to food-servicedisruption,”headded. With “a severe decline” in food-service demand fromsportingevents, cruises and other venues, leading to products being postponedandcanceled, Linder saidseed distributors, farmers, shippers and others in the produce business “are hesitant to forecast and provide contracts.” An un- clear forecastofmarket trendsandproduct needs for thenext sixmonths alsomakes it difficult for seedsuppliers toservecustom- ers, he said, as “orders come quickly with, at times, little notice.” Carrots, garlic, onions and melons do not represent a major part of Merced County farmer Cannon Michael’s oper- ation, but he said increased demand for those crops has spurred more plantings thisyear.Withconcernsaboutwater short- ages,Michael saidheplans to fallowsome fields, includingreducingacreage forcrops such as cotton and alfalfa, which used to represent half of what he grows but now accounts for less than 5%. “We’re trying to be conservative, but also trying to come up with a plan that maximizes what we think we can do,” Michael said. He said he thinks many farmers who don’t have stable water supplies, espe- cially those on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, won’t be growing cotton this year and are “cutting back consider- ably” on plantings of other annual crops to ensure they have enough water for their permanent crops. Even though the cottonmarket is starting to strengthen, he
added, prices aren’t attractive enough for farmers to “feel comfortable” growing it. As a rice farmer in Colusa County, Bruce Rolen said the rice market has provided “good returns” to growers for the last three years, which should mo- tivate them to plant all their acreage. But reduced water allocations will limit plantings if dry conditions continue for the next three months, he said, noting that he expects his water allotments to be cut by 25%, whichwill force himto fallow 25% of his rice acres. Even if late-spring rains restored fullwa- ter allotments, he said those announce- ments sometimes come too late in the season, after farmers have already made their planting decisions, noting this was the case last year. Though limitedwater supplies remain a key consideration for what farmers can grow, employee availability and cost also determine crop decisions. For this reason, Santa Clara County farmer Tim Chiala said his main focus has been try- ing to reduce crops such as small spe- cialty peppers that require “a lot of ex- cessive labor.” The pandemic has further affected his workforce, he said, with crew sizes that “change all the time.” But even before the emergence of COVID-19, Chiala said the need to reduce relianceonhand laborwas something “we’ve been looking at every year anyway.” (ChingLeeisanassistanteditorofAgAlert. Shemaybe contactedat clee@cfbf.com.)
don’tneedirrigationthistimeofyearalready look“stuntedanddwarfed,”hesaid, forcing himto irrigate twice this growing season. Electricity ratehikes areexpected to fur- ther raise the cost of growing many of his traditional crops if hemust pumpground- water, Medeiros said. Even contracted crops such as corn nuts, which he grows for Kraft Heinz, may not be able to pencil out, he added. Despite higher prices for commodity crops such as cotton, Kern County farmer Travis Fugitt said it remains a “giant un- known” what he’ll be able to grow if he doesn’t have adequatewater supplies. “Everything is so up and down right now,”hesaid. “Themarketsaregoingback up, but our water allocations are down.” Fugitt had fallowed“a lot of ground” last year due to lower commodity prices and “the crazy market” reacting to the pan- demic, making some crops “too risky” to grow, he said. Though his early-season cropswill remain“about thesame,”hesaid he likelywon’t be able todouble-crop this year becauseof expectedwater shortages. For Tulare County farmer James Birch, changes tohis cropmix relatemore tohow he’s marketing those crops. Whereas he used to sell 80% of his produce at farmers markets and to restaurants, his crops are nowgoing largely tocommunity-support- edagriculture subscriptionandhome-de- livery foodboxes. Sales fromhis farmstand also have soared, he noted.
CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM CIMIS REPORT | www.cimis.water.ca.gov
For the week January 14 - January 20, 2021 ETO (INCHES/WEEK)
YEAR
3.0
THIS YEAR
2.5
LAST YEAR AVERAGE YEAR
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
MACDOEL II (236)
BIGGS (244)
DAVIS (06)
MANTECA (70)
FRESNO (80)
SALINAS-SOUTH (214)
FIVE POINTS (2)
SHAFTER (5)
TEMECULA (62)
IMPERIAL (87)
THIS YEAR LAST YEAR AVG. YEAR % FROM AVG.
.28 .15 .21 20
.67 .21 .24 179
.28 .26 .28 0
.59 .34 .30 92
.60 .17 .23 147
.90 .21 .28 212
.27 .29 .27 0
.78 .26 .40 93
.99 .51 .63 .58
.61 .00 .59 5
W eekly reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is the rate of water use (evapotranspiration—the sum of soil evaporation and crop transpiration) for healthy pasture grass. Multiplying ETo by the appropriate “crop coefficient” gives estimates of the ET for other crops. For example, assume ETo on June 15 is 0.267 inches and the crop coefficient for corn on that day is 1.1. Multiplying ETo by the coefficient (0.26 inches x 1.1) results in a corn ET of 0.29 inches. This
information is useful in determining the amount and timing of irriga- tion water. Contact Richard Snyder, UC Davis, for information on coefficients, 530-752-4628. The 10 graphs provide weekly ETo rates for selected areas for average year, last year and this year. The ETo information is provided by the California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) of the California Department of Water Resources.
For information contact the DWR district office or DWR state headquarters:
SACRAMENTO HEADQUARTERS: 916-651-9679 • 916-651-7218
NORTHERN REGION: Red Bluff 530-529-7301
NORTH CENTRAL REGION: West Sacramento 916-376-9630
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION:
SOUTHERN REGION:
Fresno 559-230-3334
Glendale 818-500-1645 x247 or x243
January 27, 2021 Ag Alert 27
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