http://www.modbee.com/2013/11/16/3035349/leonard-van-elderen-water-is-the.html

By Leonard Van Elderen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Yosemite Farm Credit

The financing of a farm is tied squarely to the land. The land has value that allows the lender to provide the loans. That value comes from the land’s ability to grow the crops. And that requires water.

Water is an emerging concern for Central Valley agriculture on several fronts.

There is the current short-term crisis for many farmers due to the lack of rain and snow. There is the prospect of state regulators redirecting water from farmers to the environment along the San Joaquin River and its tributaries, in the heart of Stanislaus and Merced counties.

Groundwater extraction seems to have reached, and in some cases exceeded, its sustainable limits. And there is the continued gridlock in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where regulations are constricting the water system’s ability to capture sufficient supplies when nature makes them available.

For now, the lending environment for agriculture is relatively strong. Farmland continues to possess considerable value. Land prices are rising. But the emerging concerns about water – both in their sheer number and their serious nature – seem of greater long-term concern than ever before.

Lenders certainly don’t have all the water solutions for California. But we don’t want to wake up to a problem where land loses value and the financial ability to farm begins to dry up.

Lenders don’t make long-term loan decisions based on the recent weather, no matter how wet or dry. The land provides the financial security for the long-term loans only as long as the crops provide the income to pay for property, trees and vines, and other major capital upgrades.

Operating loans for short-term needs such as payroll, seed and fertilizer are tied to the long-term success of farming. The foundation of the agriculture money cycle is a relationship rooted in the long haul and the land. Of our nearly $2 billion in loans to farmers in the Central Valley, about 85 percent is to be paid back over many years.

To lenders, farmers are not simply account numbers. We support their effort to succeed and their effort to hand this passion to yet another generation.

Every part of this sector takes great pride in this valley’s remarkable ability to grow the farm products that are served at kitchen tables throughout the nation and world.

Instability and uncertainty are not our friends, particularly when it comes to water.

The Delta, providing water to more than 2 million acres of Valley farmland, is a primary case in point. The short-term regulatory environment is bleak. Struggling fish populations are triggering restrictions on winter pumping when the availability of water is at its greatest. There may be a long-term solution that is emerging through a state and federal process known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. But for now, potential supplies are not making it to farms. Reservoir levels are low. And this record dry year has many farming communities on edge about what will happen next year. There is no reason to use an operating loan when there is no water to grow a crop.

Lenders worry about risk. Water has rapidly risen to the top of the list of risks facing the industry. There was once a sense that water availability in the Central Valley was not a primary risk for the long term. That calculation is changing.

There was always great faith that when prices for commodities like almonds or walnuts come down to more typical levels, we can still pay the costs to farm including payroll, seed and fertilizer. But with the physical limits of water and the numerous efforts to redirect water away from farms, we may be facing a structural change in farming.

Land has farming value only if it has sufficient and reliable water. Long-term water solutions are essential to ensuring that money can continue to flow from lenders to farmers and to all beneficiaries of our agricultural economy. That includes all of us as we sit down to eat our next meal.

CDFA’s ongoing commitment to outreach through technology has led to the development of three new applications for smart phones. The first is a guide to local farmers’ markets. The new application was developed in collaboration with the State Department of Technology and works on both Android and iPhones. It leverages California’s mobile framework with location-aware services and GIS features. Our application will help you locate the nearest farmers market in your area along with contact information.

Through our work in weights and measures, which includes the regulation of public scales, a mobile application for truckers has been developed to help locate the nearest scales.  The need for this application was identified after tracking 2,500 unique visitors each month to CDFA’s web site in search of locations.

We have also expanded our Report-A-Pest app so it may be accessed via both iPhone and Android. The app provides the ability to photograph and report suspected harmful pests to state and local agricultural officials. Using camera and GPS technology, the app provides invasive species specialists with valuable sighting information.

This exciting frontier of technological interfacing is just beginning to help us better serve the people of California. More than 50 public mobile applications from state government are now available through California’s Mobile Gallery, and we expect many, many more as we embrace advances certain to come in years ahead.

http://www.fb.org/index.php?action=newsroom.news&year=2013&file=nr1114.html

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 28th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.04, a 44-cent price decrease from last year’s average of $49.48.

“The cost of this year’s meal, at less than $5 per serving, remains an excellent value for consumers,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman, a rice and cattle producer from Texas. “America’s farm and ranch families are honored to produce the food from our nation’s land for family Thanksgiving celebrations,” he said. “During this holiday season, many farmers and ranchers will be reaching out to consumers in-person or through social media, to answer questions about the food that they grow or the poultry and livestock they raise,” he added.

The AFBF survey shopping list includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a relish tray of carrots and celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and beverages of coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10. There is also plenty for leftovers.

The big ticket item – a 16-pound turkey – came in at $21.76 this year. That was roughly $1.36 per pound, a decrease of about 3 cents per pound, or a total of 47 cents per whole turkey, compared to 2012. The whole bird was the biggest contributor to the final total, showing the largest price decrease compared to last year.

This year we can be thankful that Thanksgiving Dinner, a special meal many of us look forward to all year, will not take a bigger bite out of our wallets,” said John Anderson, AFBF’s deputy chief economist. “Most Americans will pay about the same as last year at the grocery store for a turkey and all the trimmings. Slightly higher turkey production for much of the year coupled with an increase in birds in cold storage may be responsible for the moderate price decrease our shoppers reported,” he said.

Strategic shoppers may pay even less for frozen tom turkey compared to AFBF’s 167 volunteer shoppers who checked prices at grocery stores in 34 states.

“Special sales and promotions on turkey and other holiday food items will continue right up to Thanksgiving,” Anderson explained. “If you have the patience to wait until the last minute to buy a turkey you might come home with an exceptional bargain,” he said.

In addition to the turkey, other items that declined in price included a dozen brown-n-serve rolls, $2.18; one pound of green peas, $1.54; a 14-ounce package of cubed bread stuffing, $2.67; fresh cranberries, $2.42; a half pint of whipping cream, $1.85; and two nine-inch pie shells, $2.49.

Items that showed a moderate price increase from last year included three pounds of sweet potatoes, $3.36; one gallon of whole milk, $3.66; and a 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix, $3.10.

In addition, a combined group of miscellaneous items, including coffee and ingredients necessary to prepare the meal (onions, eggs, sugar, flour, evaporated milk and butter) increased to $3.20. A one-pound relish tray of carrots and celery increased to 81 cents.

The average cost of the dinner has remained around $49 since 2011. Further, Anderson noted that despite retail price increases during the last year or so, American consumers have enjoyed relatively stable food costs in general over the years, particularly when adjusted for inflation.

The stable average price reported this year by Farm Bureau for a classic Thanksgiving dinner tracks closely with the government’s Consumer Price Index for food eaten at home (available online at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf), which indicates a 1 percent increase compared to a year ago.

Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers are asked to look for the best possible prices, without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or purchase deals, such as spending $50 and receiving a free turkey. Shoppers with an eye for bargains in all areas of the country should be able to purchase individual menu items at prices comparable to the Farm Bureau survey averages. Another option for busy families without a lot of time to cook is ready-to-eat Thanksgiving meals for up to 10 people, with all the trimmings, which are available at many supermarkets and take-out restaurants for around $50 to $75.

The AFBF survey was first conducted in 1986. While Farm Bureau does not make any scientific claims about the data, it is an informal gauge of price trends around the nation. Farm Bureau’s survey menu has remained unchanged since 1986 to allow for consistent price comparisons.

The next segment in the Growing California video series, a partnership with California Grown, is “Casa De Memories,” a profile of Casa de Fruta, a roadside landmark in San Benito County.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/11/08/ed-murrieta-lunch-with-karen-ross-esquir.html?page=all

By Ed Murrieta

Karen Ross, California’s head of Food and Agriculture, grew up on a cattle farm in western Nebraska. “This is a true confession,” Ross said over lunch (last month). “I grew up doing farm work and telling my dad that I was not going to stay on the farm. And every job I’ve ever had has been in agribusiness or ag policy.”

Appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, Ross was previously chief of staff for U.S. Department of agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a position she accepted in 2009. Before that, she was president of the California Association of Wine Grape Growers for 13 years. And before that, she was vice president of the Agriculture Council of California, lobbying on behalf of farmer-owned collectives.

What follows are edited highlights of my conversation with Karen Ross over lunch at Esquire Grill on Oct. 31.

It was a wide-ranging conversation that covered food security and food safety; agritourism and public markets; the diversity of California’s crops and cultures; the role of women in agriculture and farming; and what kind of food California’s secretary of Food and Agriculture likes to cook and eat.

Ross ordered radicchio chicken salad that had an earthy fall glow. I had the colorful crab Louie surrounded by a bouquet of beets and edible flowers. Esquire Grill’s new executive chef Scott Ostrander had debuted his first menu the day before, and he sent out some tastes: lobster salad with pomegranate seeds and fiery chilies served on a blade of lobster shell; a playful twist on peanut butter and jelly featuring bread crumbs tossed in peanut oil, dotted with dabs of jelly and grapes; tempura-fried beef tenderloin deftly constructed with blue cheese and onions on a rosemary skewer; and ethereal apple fritters glistening in sugar and caramel.

Diverse bounty

“Not many people fully understand California agriculture — just the sheer size and diversity of it the ability we have to grow 400 crops, to be a year-round industry. I think one of the things we have and we don’t highlight enough is that the diversity of our population has given us some fabulous ethnic food, ethnic markets and ethnic farmers.

That’s how people travel: They taste the food and then they have a sense of where they want to go. I think that can be a fabulous way of celebrating what we have here.”

Farm to school

“This is happening at a time when we are understanding much better the connection between nutrition and the avoidance of chronic diseases like obesity, like diabetes, like high blood pressure — all the things that impact quality of life as well as the cost of health care. This is an investment in our future. These children have a better position to achieve their potential if they have good nutrition and start early in their life with good nutrition.”

Serving farmers

“Being away from the farm, I really realized that the values system I have, my work ethic, my interest in people came from being on that farm. I think farmers are very special people. They’re working with Mother Nature. Being able to serve farmers and ranchers and the people who eat their food, that is something I feel very fortunate to be able to do.”

Public markets

“Food is a common language so being able to celebrate it in a public atmosphere is an opportunity to reconnect people. I grew up in the middle of nowhere in western Nebraska. Everything we did on a community basis was always around ‘bring food.’ It’s sharing, it’s bringing people together. I think a public market can serve a very functional purpose in terms of commerce and I think it can serve a very important social purpose. I think if you create a space that’s inviting and inclusive, people will gather and share. People like that sense of community.”

Culinary tourism

“Culinary tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism. California tourism generated a little over a hundred billion dollars last year. Twenty-four-and-a-half billion of that was food and beverage. We have those opportunities in this six-county Sacramento region — in the foothills we have wineries orchards, then you come down along the rivers with biking and boating and then you have the openness of Yolo County. Unlimited possibilities and a variety of farms. In Santa Barbara County, a lot of ranch families have figured out how to do ecotourism with ranch stays. It’s not that we want to turn these places into event centers, but it’s about allowing that farm family to generate some additional revenues to keep those farms going.”

Food safety

“That’s part of the California brand. In overseas markets, we’re known for food safety and environmental safety. It’s sad that people are so afraid of their own food supplies and that’s why they’re seeking you out, but that is a fact. China’s had enough food scares, which are often times just about somebody cutting corners and trying to make a fast buck. That erosion of confidence and trust in the food supply is a very real issue in China. That’s not good in the long term for any of us. If you have people who are not accessing proper food or nutrition, or it’s too high-priced, you have civil unrest. I’ve met with many Chinese officials. The Chinese government definitely understands the importance of food security issues.”

Her tastes

“I love to cook from the farmers market. I over-buy everything — salads, vegetables and grilled fish. My dad was a cattle feeder so I eat beef several times a week. The downfall for me is pasta. If I haven’t been to Biba’s in a couple of weeks I just have to get to Biba’s. I love sushi. I love good Mexican food. I really love it when I go to Salinas and we’re out in the strawberry fields and there’s a local taco truck.”

Storyteller

“I really wanted to be an actress. And my dad let me for the first semester of college dabble in theater. I just loved being able to make people feel what the character is doing. I taught Sunday school for seven and a half years. I loved doing the storytelling because I love to bring characters to life.”

Women in ag

“It’s really changed pretty dramatically. When I started with the Agriculture Council in 1989, I remember just a few women. When I became president of California Wine Grape Growers, that was a really big deal. Shortly after that, Kathleen Nave was named president of the California Table Grape Commission. I remember somebody from the Bee calling and asking, ‘There’s two of you women running these major grape associations. Would you say it’s a new day?’ I said, ‘When there is a female president of Sun Maid Raisins or the raisin marketing association, then you can say it’s a new day. But I think we’re a few decades away from that.’ Today, nearly 20 percent of California’s farmers are women. In a lot of farming families I know, it’s the third and fourth generation daughters and granddaughters that are taking over.”

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/sacramento-area-scientists-say-salmon-could/content?oid=11971472

Read the original story from the Sacramento Bee

The small city of Galt on Sacramento County’s southern edge was founded by farmers, ranchers and dairymen like Arlin Van Groningen, a third-generation dairy farmer who continues the family tradition on a 90-acre plot off Harvey Road just north of town.

“We concentrate on cows,” he said. “Our goal is to produce a clean milk product.”

And his 1,200 head of dairy cattle do that every day at New Hope Dairy, the operation he owns with fellow dairyman Arlan Van Leeuwen.

But it’s what else New Hope’s herd produces that caught the attention of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and will soon mean enough electric power for 250 Sacramento-area single-family homes.

Biomass. Wet resources. Manure. Each of Van Groningen’s milking cows produces 120 pounds of combined manure and urine each day. That’s plenty of wet resources and more than enough to stock an advanced new dairy digester that produces and collects biogases to generate renewable electricity for SMUD.

The dairy digester – a storage tank 26 feet deep – collects and breaks down the massive amounts of manure New Hope’s cows produce, then sends the cleaned methane gases to an adjacent generator. The end product: 450 kilowatts of electricity.

Officials at the utility, state and federal energy and agriculture officials, and bioenergy advocates gathered Tuesday at New Hope Dairy to dedicate and tour the project.

“You couldn’t have a better fuel supplier,” said N. Ross Buckenham, chairman and chief executive officer of California Bioenergy, a partner in the three-year, $3.5 million project. “Dairy gas is a phenomenally valuable renewable resource and its time has come.”

SMUD is banking on it. The Sacramento utility received $5.5 million in grants from the federal Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission to help bankroll the building of New Hope’s digester and another at the nearby Van Warmerdam dairy in Galt.

German firm MT-Energie built the New Hope facility mimicking technology long used in Europe. The dairy’s biogas facility began operations in June and soon will be connected to SMUD’s grid.

Two other digesters operate in SMUD’s service territory west of Galt and south of Elk Grove. SMUD board President Bill Slaton said the biogas has become a vital part of the utility’s energy portfolio. About 27 percent of SMUD’s energy supply comes from renewable sources, he said.

It’s also a hedge against costly peak-hour power, Slaton said. The New Hope generator produces energy that SMUD would use during the peak hours of 4 to 7 p.m.

“It’s 400 megawatts that we need for about 40 hours a year,” Slaton said. “When you buy it at the peak of the season – that’s a higher cost.”

But financing, regulatory hurdles and other factors have frustrated other California farmers hoping to diversify their dairies by developing biofuels, said Julia Levin, executive director of the Bioenergy Association of California.

“This should be the first of 100 projects. We’re the No. 1 dairy state in the country. We should be the No. 1 dairy digesting state,” Levin said. “It’s unique, but let’s make it one of many, not the only one.”

Van Groningen admits that persuading him to convert his dairy waste into biofuel took some doing.

He wasn’t skeptical of the technology. But, “being in the dairy industry, we’ve seen projects like this come and go,” Van Groningen said. “The technology’s been there for many years, but financing was the biggest hurdle. SMUD tore down walls and made it happen.”

And as the renewables industry continues to grow, New Hope Dairy and other dairy operations are poised to turn waste into a much more valuable resource.

“When he first told me, I said it was a great opportunity to use the byproduct to generate power,” said Arlin’s father, Art Van Groningen, a dairy farmer near Visalia in Tulare County. “It’s a whole new way of doing it.”

“Nutrient Management for Farmland Irrigation Systems” is one of a series of videos on conservation from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The series is called, “There’s a Plan for That.”