Netafim Irrigation Pays Tribute To 50 Years

Netafim Serving Ag For 50 Years

Netafim USA, the global leader in irrigation, celebrated 50 years of drip irrigation innovation during the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California.  Marking five decades since the company first changed the face of global agriculture by introducing the world to drip irrigation technology, Netafim USA CEO John Vikupitz addressed the positive impact of Netafim’s drip irrigation technology on the agriculture industry over the past half century during a press conference held in conjunction with the company’s participation at the 2015 World Ag Expo.

“The 50th anniversary is a milestone that gives us the opportunity to share our story, achievements and goals as the world leader in drip irrigation,” said Vikupitz.  “Five decades after being established by a group of Israeli farmers in 1965 as a solution to the lack of quality water for food production, Netafim has continued to help farmers overcome challenges, increase yields and reduce costs by providing access to the most innovative water-saving crop management solutions available.”

While reaffirming the company’s commitment to driving the mass adoption of smart irrigation solutions to fight scarcity of food, water, and land, Vikupitz stressed that a large part of Netafim’s success results from collaboration with industry leaders, partners and growers.

“Recent innovations such as the lower cost, easy-to-install PolyNet system and the center pivot-based (PMDI) Precision Mobile Drip Irrigation system are examples of how Netafim listened to its customers, and redefined its core mission to help growers grow more with less,” added Vikupitz.  “More than just products, they truly represent Netafim’s desire to continually push the boundaries of what is possible, and deliver viable solutions to help farmers address the challenges of modern agriculture.”

As for the next 50 years, Vikupitz sees significant challenges as the world’s rapidly growing population places increased production demands on farmers.

“We are undergoing a transformative time, where the convergence of environment, culture and technology are changing the face of farming.  The need to maximize productivity while using less resources will be the challenge of this new era of farming,” said Vikupitz.

He continued, “As production demands mount, growers are turning to drip irrigation systems as a crop management tool. By enabling precision application of water and nutrients during the critical growth stages of a crop, Netafim’s drip irrigation solutions empower growers with improved control over many of the variables that ultimately affect a crop’s yield potential.”

Attended by an audience of media, Netafim employees and invited guests, the event concluded with a luncheon and a toast to the next 50 years of Netafim drip irrigation.

Learn more at NetafimUSA.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/NetafimUSA, Twitter @NetafimUSA.

Netafim Recycling

Netafim Recycling

NETAFIM RECYCLING SOLUTIONS

With Netafim Recycling, a wholly owned subsidiary of Netafim Irrigation, Inc of Fresno, California, getting rid of used irrigation tubing in California in an environmentally responsible way is reliable, easy, cost-efficient and convenient. Netafim Recycling will pick up used irrigation tubing/hose/tape right from the farm and recycle it to produce a recycled resin used in mining and landscape dripline applications and in industrial products such as plastic pallets.

2016-05-31T19:30:30-07:00February 19th, 2015|

California’s ‘Exceptional Drought’

Long Term Solutions, Desperately Needed For California Drought

 

By John Vikupitz, president and CEO of Netafim USA in Fresno, California

 

Aaron Barcellos, a partner with A-Bar Ag Enterprises in Los Banos, is a fourth-generation farmer. His 7,000-acre operation produces crops, including pistachios, pomegranates, asparagus, and tomatoes.

The farm creates jobs for up to 40 people full-time and over 100 at peak season. This year, the operation took an unprecedented move in letting 30 percent of its productive acreage go fallow for lack of water, redirecting available water to permanent crops and to honor tomato contracts.  This fallowing of acreage has resulted in a loss of work for over 30 part-time employees and an estimated loss of $10 million to the local business economy from his operation, alone.

“It’s a ‘batten down the hatches’ year,” notes Mr. Barcellos. “We are trying to survive this year while hoping the severity of this drought will provide momentum for more long term solutions to our water crisis.”

California’s ‘exceptional drought’ – said by University of California (UC) Berkeley paleoclimatologist B. Lynn to perhaps be the worst in 500 years – places the state at a critical juncture.

California’s historic low precipitation of 2013 and the below normal 2012 precipitation left most state reservoirs at  between six percent storage in the Southern Sierra to 36 percent in Shasta – levels not been seen since the 1977 severe drought. Snowpack is nearly non-existent.

The U.S. Drought Monitor reports nearly half of the U.S. is in some form of drought.

Water is one of life’s greatest conveniences. Turn on the tap and water appears, often at less cost than other household bills, providing the lifeblood for food production, human health, climate, energy and the ecosystem.

We may take water for granted until we’re in danger of losing it as sources dry up. We may not contemplate the support system and cost that brings water to the tap: the extensive pipe conveyance system, treatment plant, chemicals needed for purification, labor and energy costs.

Consequently, every drop saved by one water user benefits all users.

Homeowners may do their part in water conservation by installing low-flow fixtures – often incentivized through government rebate programs – by washing vehicles less or taking shorter showers. The payoff: lower water bills.

The agricultural sector is doing its part, too, using water-saving technology investments that reap returns for Californians, as well as those elsewhere benefitting from its exports. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the state produces nearly half of U.S.-grown fruits, vegetables and nuts and leads the world in almond and pistachio production. California’s 80,500 farms and ranches received a record $44.7 billion for their 2012 output.  Exports totaled more than $18 billion.

Tens of thousands of productive acres are being fallowed. The number of jobs, specifically those of farmworkers, will subside as food prices increase. California, the nation’s top dairy producer, is shipping cows out of state due to water uncertainties with no guarantee that alfalfa and other crops cows consume will continue to be available.

It’s critical that people appreciate their food source. California’s regulations ensure safe and reliable food, while California’s highly progressive and efficient farmers enable that food source to be the cheapest in the world Mr. Barcellos points out.

Food safety and quality drive those innovations, as well as economics. Regulations mean the cost to produce food and get it to the store requires farmers to be highly efficient to remain competitive.

Mr. Barcellos farms in five different irrigation districts with various water rights and water supplies. A-Bar Ag Enterprises has converted 5,500 acres from flood irrigation to drip irrigation creating a combined water savings and production efficiency of over twenty percent.

“What we do in California with the different irrigation technologies creates significant efficiencies in water application without waste, enabling farmers to increase yields with fewer inputs. With that said, it doesn’t matter what the crop – it still takes water to grow it,” Mr. Barcellos points out.

According to The Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno, Agriculture uses 40 percent of all dedicated water, including environmental, municipal and industrial uses in order to meet the needs of the eight million irrigated agricultural acres in California.

When farmers were short on water, they used to purchase it on the open market or pump more ground water. This year, there is no water to buy and wells are starting to run dry, says Mr. Barcellos.

While the federal government has offered temporary food money for farmworkers, “the people in our communities want to work, not receive handouts from a food bank,” Mr. Barcellos says, adding that it’s time to work on long-term solutions to water problems.

California’s water system was developed for 20 million people, with residents and farmers sharing the water supply, with those same resources later shared to meet environmental concerns. That – and the nearly doubled population – has taxed the water system, Mr. Barcellos says.

“We haven’t spent any serious funds to improve California’s infrastructure since the early 1970s to keep pace with population growth and environmental demands,” Mr. Barcellos says. “If the environment needs more water, let’s use sound science and invest in more storage and better conveyance systems for long-term solutions.”

Following Governor Edmund Brown Jr.’s January declaration of a drought emergency, the State Water Project cut water deliveries to all 29 public water agencies to zero for 2014.

Even if there is some short-term relief, mitigation is needed to protect against long-term unpredictable weather patterns.

UC Berkeley’s David Sedlak, professor of civil and environmental engineering, explains:  the drought notwithstanding, California’s aged infrastructure calls for increased investments in water recycling, rainwater harvesting and seawater desalination with a focus on local water supply development.

The United States Department of Agricultural (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), California indicates three priorities: protecting soils made vulnerable by water cutbacks, protecting drought-impacted rangeland, and stretching every drop of irrigation water using improved hardware and management Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to develop a water conservation plan and seek funding opportunities such as the $30 million available through USDA NRCS California to help drought-impacted farmers and ranchers with conservation practices and the $25 million to help pay for conservation practices through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

Irrigation is the final stop on the train that begins with water supply and continues with delivery methods. Water conservation technology – much of which has been proven overseas for decades on arid farmlands – offers a solution right now to apply water more precisely and even improve crop yields and quality.

Our world’s growing population calls for large-scale farming to provide food. For decades, California farmers with reasonable and secure access to water have used water conservation technologies to continue farming and create more water for other purposes, such as the needs of growing urban areas and for environmental remediation, which uses half of California’s water supply.

Farmers like Mr. Barcellos are great stewards of the environment. Many California farmers have successfully adopted this technology to a large degree, using water more efficiently and leaving more in the system for other uses. We need to expand that effort more.

2016-05-31T19:35:29-07:00May 31st, 2014|
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