Interior Assesses California Water

U.S. Department of Interior’s Tom Iseman Assesses California Water

Tom Iseman, deputy assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, in an exclusive interview with California Ag Today’s farm news director, Patrick Cavanaugh, assessed how California is faring given the drought.

Cavanaugh: I see you as someone who focuses on not just solutions but also the issues and tragedies caused by the extended drought in California. From your perspective, how is California doing and how could things be better?

Iseman: First of all, I think California is obviously on the leading edge for a lot of reasons, but the state is in the midst of an extended drought. So it is really forcing us to be smarter about how we address these water scarcity challenges. I have been very impressed with the way we have been able to really work together—the Bureau of Reclamation working with the state, the water users and the conservation groups—to think about how we can stretch our limited water supplies to meet these different purposes.

Tom Iseman, deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior (Source: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-iseman-3354aa7)

Cavanaugh: Obviously the country is not able to build another Hoover Dam, but does the Interior understand that we need more storage in California for the rainy days?

Iseman: Absolutely. There are different ways to do it, so we are looking at a number of projects. One is raising Shasta Dam; one is a new reservoir possibly on the upper San Joaquin River (Temperance Flats); and Sites Reservoir.

Cavanaugh: But those projects are a long way off, and they may never be built. What can California do now to increase its water portfolio?

Iseman: There are smarter ways we can build smaller-scale storage and new ways to operate our facilities to stretch water supplies to our advantage.

Cavanaugh: Could you talk about how we can use water differently? Desal is more expensive water, but water needs to be more expensive. When water gets more expensive, people conserve more, right? Talk about your vision of desal in America, particularly in California.

Iseman: Generally, clean water technology is a big part of what we need to be doing. It is not just building new storage; it’s being smarter with what we have. So, technology is a great way to do that. We have desalination, water recycling and water reuse. Having these options creates an opportunity for more partnerships. So now you can have cities recycling their water and sending their water supply to agricultural water users—a win-win situation. The city gets some revenue and deals with its wastewater, and agricultural water users get a new supply. That is the way we should be thinking—about the possible partnerships to take advantage of these options.

Cavanaugh: People building desal plants in cities like Santa Barbara, mothballed the plants when the rains came. We need to make desal part of the culture of these cities located on the ocean. I mean, does the Department of the Interior see that as a rational thing to do?

Iseman: It’s interesting. Obviously it has been done in other places, and they have invested quite a bit of money here in California. It comes down to economics; we don’t make the decision about whether a city builds or doesn’t build a desal plant, but it is part of the water supply list, potentially.

The challenges with desal is just the cost right now and how much energy and waste it can produce. And they are comparing that to the other options out there. Are there other technologies out there that we can use? Are there water markets or water rights I can acquire? Is there potential for new storage? I think the cost will help sort that out.

The part that cost doesn’t address in some ways—and it can be built in—is the uncertainty. One thing, I think, about a desal plant that people like is that you know there is going to be a water supply if you are on the ocean. And if you have the money and can generate the energy, you can get the water. As you see more uncertainty in our climate and in our existing water supplies, that would be one argument in favor of desal.

Cavanaugh: It is stable.

Iseman: Yes, and we need reliability.

Cavanaugh: Well, you talked about the cost and the economics, but we all need to pay more for water, and I’d be the first one. It would make everyone conserve more, right?

Iseman: Absolutely.

Cavanaugh: Maybe, raise the cost of water $10 a bill?

Iseman: Well, I’m not going to say we are going to raise people’s water rates, but if you talk to the industry and look at the future of the industry, a lot of people say, ‘People need to pay more for water.’ That is how you get the investments.

The federal budget is constrained; they are not going to be there when we are going out and building Hoover Dam in ten years. We just don’t have that kind of resources anymore. So the question is, how do you get more revenue stream in to help contribute to the cost of those investments? And that goes back to rates. And at some point, we will have to decide how much we pay for water and how much we value our water.

Cavanaugh: Thanks for being aware of all this. Are you encouraged we will find solutions?

Iseman: We talk about California everyday; we are all very aware of the things that are happening. But I really gained an appreciation of the innovation, the energy and the cooperation of people here—the commitment they have in dealing with these issues. I was glad to be a part of it.

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Link:

U.S. Department of the Interior

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:12-07:00February 19th, 2016|

LA Included in Water Priorities Act

CaWater4All-Proposed Water Priorities Act Includes Los Angeles

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

The Water Priorities Constitutional Amendment and Bond Act is good for all of California—people, farms and the environment. Should the required 565,880 petition signatures necessary for inclusion on the November 2016 ballot be collected by the April 26, 2016 deadline, and should the Water Priorities Act receive a majority of affirmative votes in November, it will provide big benefits to cities such as Los Angeles.

“The availability of regional water projects is massive for our urban centers,” stated Aubrey Bettencourt, executive director of the California Water Alliance, the ballot initiative’s sponsor. “The ability for urban centers to create water in their own regions and become less dependent on other parts of the water system, actually helps the other regions in the system as well.”

The proposed water priorities act creates flexibility all around. Bettencourt explained, “Consider that the Los Angeles (LA) River loses as much water in an average storm event as the water supply for 180,000 homes annually—in one storm! In an average normal water year, Los Angeles loses the equivalent of the Shasta Reservoir in stormwater runoff, and they are under state and federal mandates to capture that water, recycle it and put it back in their water supply. This helps clean up their beaches and ocean water, which would otherwise end up with a lot of pollution through runoff,” she said.

“This ballot measure would increase their regional water supply by capturing and injecting stormwater runoff back into their groundwater supply. That would providing flexibility and reliability to the water supply for Southern California, but also affordability, which is such a key part of this effort,” Bettencourt noted.

“And Governor Brown just extended the drought cut mandates through the end of October of this year, and a lot of communities are conserving and conserving,” she said.”They are conserving so much that they using less; and, now they have to pay more because they are using less. So they are using less water, paying more for it, and still being punished. And that should not have to happen if we have a system big enough to supply all of our diverse water needs: agricultural, urban and environmental.”

Bettencourt noted, “The system hasn’t been updated since the late ’60’s-early ’70’s, in terms of some of our large-scale infrastructure. And you have to remember, our population was half the size it is today, and we didn’t have the same type of demand on that system that we do today,” she emphasized.

“Currently, we allocate 50% of our surface water to environmental protection. That is not wrong; but what is wrong is that we didn’t expand the system enough to take care of that allocation and our people. That is what this water ballot initiative is aiming to provide: to increase our infrastructure to meet the demands of the 21st century,” said Bettencourt.

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Links:

California Water Alliance Initiative Fund

California Water Alliance

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:12-07:00February 18th, 2016|

EPA on Agriculture, Part 2

Ron Carleton, EPA on Agriculture, Part 2

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Editor’s note: In an exclusive interview with Ron Carleton, EPA Counselor to the Administrator for Agricultural Policy, we asked how the EPA views agriculture.

“Look, we want to work with agriculture,” said Ron Carleton, former deputy commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. “We have a number of issues and challenges we face across the country with water quality and other things. The thing that we often talk about is the adoption and implementation of conservation measures and best practices, and our producers are doing that,” he noted.

“Farmers are taking those very important steps,” explained Carleton, “to help get us from here to there. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy is very committed to working with agriculture, to have that dialogue, to have that discussion, to have those two-way communications. So, hopefully, we can work better together as we go forward and find those opportunities to collaborate and to partner. That is so key, and something that I strongly am committed to and strongly support.”

Ron Carlton, EPA Counselor to the Administrator for Agricultural Policy

Carleton elaborated, “I absolutely believe the EPA is always willing to look for outreach opportunities to be with our producers to sit down, to have those discussion with farmers,” towards a common goal.

“We’ve worked with our pesticide folks around the state very closely to resolve any issues that might arise with pesticide issues. We want to get those tools and those products out to our producers, but to do so in a safe way, in a way that also protects the environment. So, I think it is about collaboration. It is about discussion and dialogue, and we are committed to doing more of that.”

With the EPA’s commitment to collaboration and partnership, Carleton said hopefully in the long run, we could address the many challenges that we all have—not only in agriculture—but in the environment as well.

“I’ve always said that our farmers and ranchers are the best stewards of the land,” said Carleton. “We at the EPA need to continue working with them to support them to promote those efforts as best we can.”

“Now, we are not without challenges out there—environmental challenges with water quality, for example, with nutrient pollution in some cases, and air issues in other cases. But I think that the way we lick those problems, again, is by working together promoting those voluntary efforts. We must look for and embrace those opportunities to work together, not only with our Ag stakeholders, but also with the USDA and the NRCS.

“I think we just need to continue what we are doing, engage even more farmers and ranchers,” Carleton said, “and continue to seek technological advances, not only in irrigation, but land management and water quality. I’m confident and I’m optimistic that even with the challenges we have, climate change, a doubling of the population by 2050 and all the problems these will pose, I have every confidence in the world that we are going to find solutions to these problems, and I think that our farmers and ranchers are going to lead the way.

“Farmers and ranchers are innovative and always trying to do the best they can to protect their land and water; but we all can do better. I think our producers respond to change in very good ways. Look, we have gone through technological advances; we are more technically precise in using fertilizers and water,” Carleton said.

He noted, “Water is going to be an interesting issue as the population doubles and as we have more development, particularly in the Western part of the United States, which is drier. But I think our farmers and ranchers are good at responding to that change, and good at helping to develop, adopt, and implement those technical advances in a way that not only is environmentally good, but increases productivity.”

“They are doing more with less,” Carleton said, “particularly given the challenges of a growing population, not only here in this country, but around the world, the loss of productive agricultural land everyday to development and the increase in extreme weather events, including droughts, floods and the like—and California farmers know all too well the weather extremes.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:12-07:00February 12th, 2016|

EPA on Farming

EPA: Domestic Farming is Critical

Importing All Food from Other Countries is Risky, Part 1

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Editor’s note: California Ag Today was granted an exclusive interview with Ron Carleton, counselor to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy for agricultural policy. While we know that air and water quality are top priorities for the EPA, we asked Carleton to describe the outlook of the EPA on farming.

“The importance of our agricultural sector to our country, to our consumers, to our economy, to our job creation, to our rural communities: Absolutely, we have to preserve that,” said Carleton.

“We used to have discussions in the ’70’s, and the 80’s and the 90’s about energy independence,” he said, “because of the problems caused by importing so much of our energy from abroad, particularly in instances from countries that weren’t necessarily friendly to us.”

Carleton noted the same can be said with food imports. “Imagine we have that same situation for most of our food. I think that poses a serious risk to food safely. I think that poses a serious risk to affordability. I think that poses a serious risk to quality and quantify, and we can’t do that,” Carleton said. “It is incredibly important that we preserve our agricultural productive capability in this country.”

“I believe our country can preserve our agricultural base, and I think we can do that in a way that is also environmentally friendly,” noted Carleton. “So, interesting times; interesting challenges. But I firmly believe the men and women who farm in our country are up to the challenge.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:13-07:00February 3rd, 2016|

California Water Priorities Ballot Measure

Petitioning for California Water Priorities Ballot Measure Kicks off Friday in Fresno

California Water Alliance (CalWA) executive director Aubrey Bettencourt announced TODAY that a petition drive for the California Water Priorities Ballot Measure will take place Friday, January 29, 2016, at KMJ Studios, 1071 W. Shaw Avenue in Fresno, from 2-6 pm.

Earlier this week, the proposed ballot measure was approved by Attorney General Kamala Harris, opening the door to begin signature-gathering efforts with initiative supporters. Since the measure’s approval, CalWA has received an overwhelming amount of support and requests for petitions to circulate.

Electronic copies of the petition are not available, as use of them would disqualify the signatures gathered. Requests for petitions may be made online at www.CaWater4All.com. CalWA will begin mailing petitions on Friday, January 29.

A second signature drive is being scheduled February 9-11, 2016, at the World Ag Expo in Tulare. More information on this event will be available on the CaWater4All website.

The California Water Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the nature of water and promoting long-term, sustainable solutions that meet the health and security needs of families, cities, businesses, farmers and the environment.

The California Water Alliance Initiative Fund Committee (FPPC ID#1381113), sponsored by the California Water Alliance, a non-profit IRC §501(c)(4) organization, is a state primarily formed ballot measure recipient committee organized to qualify two or more state ballot measures for the November 2016 ballot. It is permitted to accept unlimited, non-tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit organizations, and any other lawfully permissible sources. For more information and restrictions, please visit http://cawater4all.com/.

Resources:

The Water Priorities Constitutional Amendment and Bond Act Fact Sheet

California Water Explained

California Water Use Facts

California Water Polling Infographic

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:24:14-07:00January 28th, 2016|

Water Initiative Approved by AG

California Water Priorities Initiative Goes to Ballot

The Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed water initiative:

WATER BOND. REALLOCATION OF BOND AUTHORITY TO WATER STORAGE PROJECTS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE.

Prioritizes water uses in California, with domestic uses first and irrigation uses second, over environmental, recreational, and other beneficial uses. Reallocates up to $10.7 billion in unused bond authority from existing high-speed rail ($8.0 billion) and water storage ($2.7 billion) purposes, to fund water storage projects for domestic and irrigation uses.

Removes requirement that water storage projects funded by the $2.7 billion amount also benefit the environment. Creates new State Water and Groundwater Storage Facilities Authority to choose the projects to be funded by reallocated bond amounts. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government:

No significant increase or decrease in the state’s anticipated debt payments from the redirection of up to $10.7 billion in bonds from previously approved measures, assuming these bonds would have been sold in the future absent this measure. Unknown net fiscal effects on state and local governments due to measure’s changes to how water is prioritized in the State Constitution, as well as potential changes to funding levels available for capital projects.

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“Measure is an opportunity for California’s people to influence the state’s priorities directly” said California Water Alliance, executive director Aubrey Bettencourt, executive director of the California Water Alliance, which is the sponsor of the water initiative.

“It’s a rare chance for the people of California to tell the state to get its priorities straight,” Bettencourt said. “High-speed rail is an unpopular boondoggle and a reliable water supply means more to the people and economy of this state in light of the current drought than ever before. Californians want to prepare the state for inevitable new droughts yet to come.”

Bettencourt emphasized that adding more storage to the state and federal water project systems will benefit more than just people and food producers, it will mean that wildlife refuges and habitats throughout the state will benefit from additional water when new droughts inevitably arrive. “The measure will give the system more operational flexibility and more options,” she said.

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About the California Water Alliance

The California Water Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the nature of water and promoting long-term, sustainable solutions that meet the health and security needs of families, cities, businesses, farmers and the environment.

About the California Water Alliance Initiative Fund Committee

The California Water Alliance Initiative Fund Committee (FPPC ID#1381113), sponsored by the California Water Alliance, a non-profit IRC §501(c)(4) organization, is a state primarily formed ballot measure recipient committee organized to qualify two or more state ballot measures for the November 2016 ballot. It is permitted to accept unlimited, non-tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit organizations, and any other lawfully permissible sources.

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:14-07:00January 26th, 2016|

California Water Priorities Ballot Measure Review Completed

Legislative Analyst Completes Review of California Water Priorities Ballot Measure

California Water Alliance (CalWA) executive director Aubrey Bettencourt announced TODAY that California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor and Director of Finance Michael Cohen reported their findings to Attorney General Kamala Harris regarding CalWA’s proposed constitutional and statutory amendment for November’s General Election ballot.

In its report to Attorney General Harris, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) found that the water priorities ballot measure “would not significantly increase or decrease the state’s anticipated debt payments.”

“We are pleased that the LAO agrees that our measure performs as we intended and has no undesirable fiscal effects,” said Bettencourt. “From the outset, we wrote it to avoid any new taxes, new debt, new user fees, or other costs to the state’s taxpayers.”

The measure would redirect up to $10.7 billion in previously-authorized High-Speed Rail Project and 2014 Water Bond general obligation bond authority to fund construction of specific water-storage related projects throughout the state and amend the state’s constitution to prioritize uses of water, putting people’s needs first.

By helping to solve California’s water storage infrastructure needs, the initiative would remove unspent bond funds from the High-Speed Rail Project approved by voters in 2008, now listed as the least important infrastructure priority according to the recent Stanford Golden State Poll. Dealing with the state’s water problems is the majority of voters’ top priority, according to the same poll.

CalWA sponsored the measure with State Senator Bob Huff and Board of Equalization Vice-Chair George Runner, its proponents.

The LAO also found the net effect of the measure on federal funds and its impact on state and local governments were unknown. The LAO also reported the measure could cause unknowable changes in other state capital projects.

Bettencourt said that Attorney General Harris is expected to finish her review within a week and release an official title and summary for the measure, the first step in circulating petitions to qualify the measure for placement on November’s ballot.

“The people of California will be given the ability to reprioritize the state’s direction for the needs of today—from a high speed train to water storage,” Bettencourt said. “They will soon be able to sign the measure’s petition and help us in our efforts to qualify this important initiative measure for a vote of the people,” she concluded.

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About the California Water Alliance

The California Water Alliance is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the nature of water and promoting long-term, sustainable solutions that meet the health and security needs of families, cities, businesses, farmers and the environment. To learn more, visit www.CaliforniaWaterAlliance.org.

About the California Water Alliance Initiative Fund Committee

The California Water Alliance Initiative Fund Committee (FPPC ID#1381113), sponsored by the California Water Alliance, a non-profit IRC §501(c)(4) organization, is a state primarily formed ballot measure recipient committee organized to qualify two or more state ballot measures for the November 2016 ballot. It is permitted to accept unlimited, non-tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, partnerships, nonprofit organizations, and any other lawfully permissible sources. For more information and restrictions, please visit http://cawater4all.com/

Paid for by the California Water Alliance Initiative Fund | 455 Capitol Mall Suite 600, Sacramento, CA 95814

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:24:15-07:00January 20th, 2016|

USDA Pesticide Data Program Report Confirms Food Safety

USDA Pesticide Data Program Report Confirms Food Safety:

More than 99 percent of sampled food tested below allowable pesticide residue levels!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed again in its annual report that American consumers can focus on the nutritional benefits of conventional and organic produce without concern for pesticide residues. Over 99 percent of fresh and processed food available to consumers tested below allowable pesticide residue levels, as detailed in the 24^thPesticide Data Program (PDP) Annual Report released on January 11, 2016 by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Only .36 percent [0.36%] of the products sampled through the PDP had residues above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established tolerances, giving consumers plentiful options to meet their daily nutritional needs.

“Today’s consumers can choose from food produced with a variety of farming methods and necessary crop protection strategies and be confident that it will sustain and enrich their families’ lives,” stated Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA). “Across the nation, our growers continue to use the most advanced crop protection technology available to target specific crop threats. From precision agriculture to integrated pest management, farmers in the heartland, the plains, coastal areas and everywhere in between are pushing forward with the best ways to produce food for their communities and for the country.”

PDP researchers tested a total of 10,619 samples of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (8,582 samples), oats (314 samples), rice (314 samples), infant formula (1,055 samples), and salmon (354 samples). To ensure the samples were representative of the U.S., researchers collected data in a variety of states throughout different times of the year. The findings support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, recently released by USDA and the U.S. Department of Health, which encourage consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables.

“With rapid advancements in computing technology, the space for developing new ways to fight agricultural threats is increasing exponentially,” stated Dr. Janet E. Collins, senior vice president of science and regulatory affairs at CLA. “Consumers have a number of options at the grocery store, thanks in large part to the work of the scientific community involved in research and development, the companies that are manufacturing products, and America’s farmers and ranchers. The 2014 PDP report demonstrates again that, with the sound science-based regulation of pesticides and commitment from the industry, farmers and other stakeholders, we can reach toward making sure that every American, no matter their wallet size or geographic location, can access healthy food.”

A 2012 report from CLA demonstrates that crop protection has made healthy food more financially accessible to the American consumer, providing a 47.92 percent savings in overall grocery bills for a family of four in the U.S.¹ In addition, increased agricultural production, due to advanced pesticides, has created an additional 1,040,661 jobs generating more than $33 billion in wages—all while decreasing the need for tillage operations, thereby reducing fossil fuel use by 558 million gallons per year.

Recent reports from the United Nations also show that an increasing number of people worldwide have gained access to healthy food. Over the past 25 years, the number of people worldwide who are hungry has declined from one billion to about 795 million, or about one person out of nine—which means that 2 billion people have avoided a “likely state of hunger” given the global population increase of 1.9 billion people since 1990-92.² Multiple factors have contributed to the decrease in global hunger, including the integration of family farmers and small holders in rural areas into well-functioning markets for food, inputs and labor.

The PDP was established in 1991 for the purpose of collecting data on pesticide residues found in food. Information collected by the PDP is sent to the EPA to help the agency conduct important dietary risk assessments. The USDA also uses this data in the development of integrated pest management objectives. Since the PDP program was initiated, 109 different commodities have undergone testing. A complete version of the 2014 Annual Summary is available at www.ams.usda.gov/pdp.

¹ CropLife America. The Contributions of Crop Protection Products to the United States Economy.

² Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Program. State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015.

Established in 1933, CropLife America (www.croplifeamerica.org) represents the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest management in the United States. CropLife America’s member companies produce, sell and distribute virtually all the crop protection and biotechnology products used by American farmers. CLA can be found on Twitter at @CropLifeAmerica. CLA supports CropLife StewardshipFirst.

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:03:05-07:00January 13th, 2016|

Irrigation Uniformity in Almonds

Attaining Irrigation Uniformity in Almond Orchards

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Deputy Editor

Terry Prichard, a water management specialist with UC Cooperative Extension at UC Davis for 35 years whe he retired five years ago, is still at work. Prichard is currently collaborating with Almond Board of California to improve water management in almonds, especially irrigation uniformity. “I am still researching nitrogen management for all crops through a grant through the UC from CDFA, and I am helping the Almond Board with their irrigation initiative and their Irrigation Improvement Continuum,” Prichard said.

Prichard explained, “We try to apply water in order to get an average amount of water throughout the field and do that very uniformly. When it is done non-uniformly, farmers are using extra water to reach all parts of the field. So improving irrigation uniformity allows us to apply less total water, but still meet the crop’s water demands,” Prichard noted.

Dormant almond trees with micro-sprinkers

Improvements to irrigation uniformity can be done in any field, according to Prichard. He suggests your designer should strive for good irrigation uniformity when creating your irrigation design. “However,” he clarified, “if you design a less expensive minimal system which uses minimal size piping, you end up using extra energy to drive the pressure through the system to deliver water to the end. Driving that pressure causes friction loss in the pipe—pressure differentials from the top of the system near the pump to the end of the system on the last sprinkler or dripper. These pressure differentials deliver different volumes of water out of each sprinkler, micro-sprinkler or drip emitter, and that is what drives non-uniformity.”

Also important is irrigation maintenance—making sure the system is flushed out and emitters are changed when needed. “Improving uniformity with large orifice-type sprinklers or even larger micro-sprinklers,” stated Prichard, “tends to be a little easier because the holes are larger and don’t plug as easily. In smaller orifice-type systems such as drip irrigation, emitters easily become clogged with physical particulates or biological particulates like slime and algae. Most commonly, lime or manganese forms inside the emitter, clogs it up and reduces the flow, so maintenance of those systems is very important to maximize your designed-in uniformity,” he said.

“Continuum irrigation is an important concept because there is a whole array of current grower practices, some at the minimum level for what we consider for most growers, some are transitioning to more sophisticated methods, and others are already there. I think this continuum will reassure people who are at the minimum level and encourage them to adopt more technological solutions to irrigation scheduling.”

Prichard said the Almond Board’s Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum doesn’t have a set timeframe. ”It has more accomplishment phases and so what we hope to do is provide each grower with information that they can use on their farm to improve their efficient use of water to produce almonds.”

“And the Almond Board is making these strategies and new technology systems web-based,” noted Prichard. “It is very easy with a web-based system to input new things. The current continuum on the website conceptualizes the basic visual measurements and practices, and you can click on a specific practice for more information on how to incorporate it to accomplish your goals. Then there is a link to a specific discussion such as how to accomplish these efficiencies using drip irrigation, for example,” said Prichard.

Double drip irrigation on almond trees

”Almond growers have made tremendous strides in improving their efficient use of water, primarily from changing older flood-type irrigation systems to the newer pressure systems. This progress has been tremendous for the industry and for growers in terms of producing more crop using less resources.”

“However, we are now at the next level of using these methods, such as weather-based irrigation scheduling estimates, followed by soil- and plant-based checks, to ensure that you are delivering just the right amount of water,” explained Prichard. “The continuum has generated a lot of grower interest. We have several ways to go and many more tools now than we did ten or twenty years ago.”

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Introduced at The Almond Conference in December, the full Irrigation Improvement Continuum and comprehensive background materials will be posted on the Almond Board’s website by March 1, 2016, providing “one-stop shopping” for almond irrigation management at all levels.

According to Almond Board’s January 2016 Outlook newsletter, the continuum describes three proficiency levels and provides a comprehensive program of irrigation management and scheduling practices in five key areas, and also explains how these practices can be effectively integrated at each level. The five key areas include:

Measuring irrigation system performance and efficiency;
Estimating orchard water requirements based on evapotranspiration;
Determining the amount of water applied;
Evaluating soil moisture; and
Evaluating plant water status.

Proficiency level 1.0 (minimum) outlines research-based irrigation management practices that are within reach of all California Almond growers. Proficiency levels 2.0 (intermediate) and 3.0 (advanced) enhance practices to more sophisticated levels to attain even more “crop per drop.”

The goal is to assist all almond growers in meeting level 1.0 proficiency. Beyond this, Almond Board will work with growers to help them progress along the continuum to proficiency levels 2.0 and 3.0, in partnership with technical experts and resources available to California Almond growers, such as through University of California Cooperative Extension.

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Link: Almond Board of California

California Ag Today2021-05-12T11:05:59-07:00January 11th, 2016|

Farmers are Asset Managers

By Brian German, Associate Editor

Richard Casias, principal scientist and managing member at RCC Group, LLC, an environmental management consulting company based in Davis, expressed his deep respect for the Valley’s local farmers’ positive outlook, “What I really appreciate about these individuals is farmers are true asset managers. Their goal is to work efficiently, effectively and bring a good investment off the land they are managing.”

RCC Group’s primary customer base of almond, walnut and pistachio growers approach Casias by introducing their asset, emphasizing ongoing preservation of that asset, and making certain that the inputs are positive, and losses are minimized, like any company. With over 30 years of experience in earth science and environmental management, Casias attributes his expertise to this ongoing learning process.

Casias has traveled nationwide, including Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas, promoting environmental management systems and conducting environmental and water resource investigations. “I’ve been advocating for an environmental management system for farming operations. Australia and other countries have been doing it, and it is completely applicable here in Central Valley farming operations.”

Casias continued, “So many of the farming practices that are being done are not getting farmers the positive feedback and validation as good land and water stewards. That is part of my motivation—to make sure growers recognize and take credit for all the extra work that they do to make their farming operations successful.”

When it comes to increasing water regulations on farming, Casias commented, “I try to remind growers that public scrutiny is not solely focused on agriculture as the villain; there are a number of people [and industries] using these natural resources.”

California Ag Today2016-05-31T19:26:59-07:00January 7th, 2016|