All the rain and resultant water California has received this year was on the minds of the participants – as well as on the agenda – at the What’s the Future of Agriculture? summit at Fresno State University at the end of March.
Ironically, after so many years of drought, farmers, environmental experts, agribusiness leaders, scientists and others attending the conference were both pleased with all the rain, but also concerned because the excess water has flooded fields and in many cases has halted production and ruined crops. A double-edged climate sword.
The Central Valley, which produces more crops than any other place in the country, was a major focus of the discussion at the summit, particularly the impact of so much water exemplified by the return of Tulare Lake, in Tulare and Kings counties. Water has been drowning crops and farmland in the region and the long-extinct lake is threatening to flood not only more farmland but also entire communities.
Many farmers in the Central Valley are experiencing heavy financial losses but there’s little they can do, which is something experts at the conference discussed.
“There is not a lot that can be done once a row crop has been submerged like we’re seeing [in Tulare and Kings counties],” said Jennifer Pett-Ridge, a senior staff scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Aaron Hedge, chairman of the economics department at California State University Bakersfield, agreed and elaborated on what we’re seeing in the region.
“In the area where they are [Tulare and Kings counties], a lot of crops are underwater and it’ll take 12 to 24 months for the water to dry, for the land to dry, which means these farmers have lost their crops,” he explained.
Hedge added that some others may be more fortunate because these growers have very soggy fields and although it appears their crops have survived, the farmers are still left behind because of the damage.
Daniel Hartwig, director of sustainability at Woolf Farming in the region explained what conditions have been like for farmers since January on the ground.
“When we get a lot of rain like this, we’re knocked out for two or three days when it tries to dry out. So, you try to work for those days where it’s dry, and you know you watch the forecast, and try to see what’s coming up.”
The area of greatest concern is the Tulare Lake bed region. Now that the rains have stopped, farmers there are trying to figure out what they need to do.
Hartwig said the reality is that there’s much uncertainty among growers in the region. Few really know what to do yet.
“Folks are kind of scrambling because it’s really, really challenging; you’ve made plans for you know, your crops. And now with all the rainfall we’ve gotten you can’t always get that harvest in and you can’t get them planted as you’ve planned to do,” he said.
Farmers in the region need help and California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross, who participated in the summit, indicated help was coming. In fact, a theme in her talk was the need for greater cooperation between government, farmers, agribusiness interests and the rest of the state’s residents, as well as better flexibility and adaptability by government when it comes to farming and farmers.
The overall consensus at the conference though was that all the rain has been good for California agriculture and farmers; that the storms have helped with the state’s water supply.
A takeaway to this consensus at the summit though was that more water storage is needed – and fast. Also, finding ways to regularly recharge the aquifer is vital to farming and water in California.
“If you look at the valley in California, the way things evolved here there were regular floods,” said Charles Hillyer, interim associate vice president of the California Water Institute at Fresno State University. “The floods also killed people. So, we invested a lot in flood control and that saved a lot of lives, but it also prevented a lot of flood water from going into the aquifer. So if we can find ways to restore that kind of balance that’s gonna go a long way to help us make water use sustainable in the Central Valley.”
The What’s the Future of Agriculture? summit at Fresno State University was sponsored by the Maddy Institute, in partnership with the University of California Merced, Lawrence Livermore Lab, Fresno State, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Stanislaus and Climate Now. The conference’s main focus was on agriculture and the current and future climate reality in California’s Central Valley and throughout the state.
My Job Depends on Ag Magazine columnist and contributing editor Victor Martino is an agrifood industry consultant, entrepreneur and writer. One of his passions and current projects is working with farmers who want to develop their own branded food products. You can contact him at: victormartino415@gmail.com.
