The EQIP-Conservation Incentive Contracts program (EQIP-CIC), a pilot program from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in California, has extended its deadline for applications to July 14.
The program is looking to provide long-term support to address drought on agricultural and other lands.
Specifically through this new pilot program (EQIP-CIC), six high priority areas were identified:
1. San Joaquin Valley (cropland);
2. Statewide (cropland);
3. Klamath Basin (cropland);
4. Statewide (range, pasture);
5. Statewide (forest); and
6. Statewide Tribal Land (cropland, range, pasture, forest).
In addition to these high priority areas, NRCS conservationists are available to discuss best conservation practices and enhancements for cropland, rangeland, forestland, pastureland, and tribal land, which can result in development of a conservation plan. A conservation plan is a roadmap to the natural resources stewardship of land that helps with the successful implementation of conservation improvements.
Plants are the natural solution for many conservation challenges. For example, landowners can install hedgerow and other plantings to establish multi-purpose wildlife habitat. Through this program, land managers could receive reimbursement for planting cover crops for pollinators while improving soil health and for planting trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs to create habitat for beneficial insects and Monarch butterflies, while reducing soil erosion or improving livestock well being.
As a western drought state, California landowners may reduce risks of wildfires while protecting homes and communities by using conservation practices such as brush management, fuel break, woody residue treatment, and forest stand improvement. With this new pilot program, landowners would also be able to receive reimbursement to continue the longer term management of these best conservation practices for reducing the height and density of forest understory to limit wildfire risk.
Landowners can efficiently use water resources by implementing practices such as irrigation ditch lining, irrigation pipeline, or micro irrigation. Through the pilot program, irrigation scheduling technology can be included in a conservation plan to help farmers explore new technology with agricultural innovations to help decrease energy and water use.
For more information on the new pilot EQIP-CIC and the new July 14, 2021 application deadline, contact a local NRCS field office to schedule an appointment. An office locator is available at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/ca/contact/.
Jesus Adrian Barba recently graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Chico.
By David Rodriquez
After mainstream high school classes failed to interest Jesus Adrian Barba, he tried raising sheep and pigs for the Future Farmers of America (FFA).
This became his gateway to higher education.
The 22-year-old Salinas native graduated at the top of his class at California State University, Chico. He received his degree in agricultural business.
“Agriculture saved my education,” Barba said. “It provided me with a path to follow.”
Barba said that graduating at the top of his class and getting a college degree was once a distant dream.
“It means a lot to me,” he said. “I didn’t plan to attend college because I was lost on what I wanted to do, but then the idea was implemented in me when I was part of the agricultural program during my junior year. To be part of the top 1% of the entire graduating class is just an amazing accomplishment and feeling.”
A hands-on learner
In high school, Barba often got kicked out of class because of his inability to stay focused. When he joined the more hands-on FFA program at his counselor’s suggestion, Barba went from a struggling student to a thriving one.
Barba graduated from Everett Alvarez High School in May 2017, with a 3.5 GPA. He was part of The National FFA Organization and Agricultural Program at his school.
“This program was amazing to me because it put me to work,” Barba said. “I was able to learn about an industry surrounding our area and was able to participate in it. While being part of the FFA program I was able to raise sheep and pigs.”
He was also given the agriculture award of “Most Likely to Succeed in Agriculture,” as a senior in high school.
“Having a degree in agricultural business means that I have opened new opportunities that my parents would never have had the chance to undertake,” he said. “By being top of my class as well as having this degree means I am able to do things others might not be able to do. Graduating with these honors is just a demonstration that I am able to do anything I set my mind to.”
Data from Pew Research reveals that in 2017 when Barba graduated high school, only 16% of all Hispanics in the U.S., 25 and older, had a bachelor’s degree or more. At that time, the rate for all Americans was double that of Hispanics at 32%.
Leaving the nest
Barba is the middle child and has two sisters — Lumi Diane Barba, 25, and a younger sister who attends Everett Alvarez High School, his alma mater. He said it was important he earned his college degree not just for him but for his parents.
“Their goal has always been to give their kids a better future,” Barba said. “They have always supported us in what we do and are always there.”
Barba’s parents both worked in the fields and have always believed in the power of a good education. The parents said they’ve instilled those same values in their children.
“For me as a father, it was very important that they continue their education so that they can forge a better future and not have to fight as we have struggled,” said Jose De Jesus Barba, Barba’s father.
Barba’s parents are from Jalisco, Mexico, and could not attend school past sixth grade because they had to work to help support their families.
“I have pride as a mother to know that my son graduated with the highest honor from the university. It does not surprise me because he was always a good boy who works hard and strives to get ahead for a better future,” Carmen Barba Delgadillo said. “We did not go to school and that’s why I have pride as a mother to know that they have succeeded and that they are now able to fly on their own.”
‘Better than I was yesterday’
In July, Barba will enter the workforce as a production lead for E&J Gallo winery. The winery is headquartered in Modesto, Calif., and is the largest exporter of California wines.
He would eventually like to start his own ag business and attend graduate school to obtain a master’s in business. When times get tough, Barba said he can always look back on his degree and know he’s capable of overcoming any challenge.
“This degree means I am better than I was yesterday,” he added.
For students unsure what the future holds, Barba had some advice.
“I suggest to hold on to that thing that you love and follow it because it will introduce you to new opportunities and experiences,” he said. “I also advise those students to give things a try. It is better to experience things and see if you like them or not than to not try them at all. Take chances because you never know what will come out of it.”
Drought conditions are once again impacting California farms.
By Somini Sengupta
In America’s fruit and nut basket, water is now the most precious crop of all.
It explains why, amid a historic drought parching much of the American West, a grower of premium sushi rice has concluded that it makes better business sense to sell the water he would have used to grow rice than to actually grow rice. Or why a melon farmer has left a third of his fields fallow. Or why a large landholder farther south is thinking of planting a solar array on his fields rather than the thirsty almonds that delivered steady profit for years.
“You want to sit there and say, ‘We want to monetize the water?’ No, we don’t,” said Seth Fiack, a rice grower in Ordbend, on the banks of the Sacramento River (in Glenn County), who this year sowed virtually no rice and instead sold his unused water for desperate farmers farther south. “It’s not what we prefer to do, but it’s what we kind of need to, have to.”
These are among the signs of a huge transformation up and down California’s Central Valley, the country’s most lucrative agricultural belt, as it confronts both an exceptional drought and the consequences of years of pumping far too much water out of its aquifers. Across the state, reservoir levels are dropping and electric grids are at risk if hydroelectric dams don’t get enough water to produce power.
Climate change is supercharging the scarcity. Rising temperatures dry out the soil, which in turn can worsen heat waves. This week, temperatures in parts of California and the Pacific Northwest have been shattering records.
By 2040, the San Joaquin Valley is projected to lose at least 535,000 acres of agricultural production. That’s more than a tenth of the area farmed.
And if the drought perseveres and no new water can be found, nearly double that amount of land is projected to go idle, with potentially dire consequences for the nation’s food supply. California’s $50 billion agricultural sector supplies two-thirds of the country’s fruits and nuts and more than a third of America’s vegetables — the tomatoes, pistachios, grapes and strawberries that line grocery store shelves from coast to coast.
Glimpses of that future are evident now. Vast stretches of land are fallow because there’s no water. New calculations are being made about what crops to grow, how much, where. Millions of dollars are being spent on replenishing the aquifer that has been depleted for so long.
“Each time we have a drought you’re seeing a little glimpse into what will happen more frequently in our climate future,” said Morgan Levy, a professor specializing in water science and policy at the University of California, San Diego.
For Rice Farmers, a Tricky Decision
California’s fertile Central Valley begins in the north, where the water begins. In normal times, winter rain and spring snowmelt swell the Sacramento River, nourishing one of the country’s most important rice belts. On an average year, growers around the Sacramento River produce 500,000 acres of sticky, medium-grain rice vital to sushi. Some 40 percent is exported to Asia.
But these are not normal times. There’s less snowpack, and, this year, much less water in the reservoirs and rivers that ultimately irrigate fields, provide spawning places for fish and supply drinking water for 39 million Californians.
That crisis presents rice farmers in the Sacramento Valley, which forms the northern part of the Central Valley, with a tricky choice: Should they plant rice with what water they have, or save themselves the toil and stress and sell their water instead?
Mr. Fiack, a second-generation rice farmer, chose to sell almost all of it.
His one 30-acre field of rice glistens green in the June sunshine, guzzling water that pours out of a wide-mouthed spigot. His remaining 500 acres are bare and brown. What water he would have used to grow rice he has signed away for sale to growers of thirsty crops hundreds of miles south, where water is even more scarce.
At $575 per acre-foot (a volume of water one acre in size, one foot deep) the revenue compares favorably to what he would have made growing rice — without the headaches. It makes “economic sense,” Mr. Fiack said flatly.
Rice is far less lucrative than, say, almonds and walnuts, which is why Mr. Fiack’s fields are surrounded by nut trees and even he is dabbling in walnuts. But rice farmers are uniquely advantaged. Because their lands have been in production for so long, they tend to have first dibs on water that comes out of the Sacramento River, before it is channeled through canals and tunnels down south.
Also, unlike the owners of fruit and nut trees, whose investments would wither in a few weeks without water, rice farmers can leave a field fallow for a year, even two. In the era of climate change, when water can be unreliable, that flexibility is an asset. Rice water transfers have been an important part of California’s drought coping strategy.
This year, rice farmers in the Sacramento Valley will produce around 20 percent less rice.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about that.
Kim Gallagher, a third-generation rice farmer, left fallow only 15 percent of her fields. She worries about the effect on the rice mills and crop-duster pilots who live off rice farming, not to mention the birds that come to winter in the flooded fields. “These are trade-offs every farmer has to make, what they can fallow and what they can’t,” she said. “Everyone has a different number.”
Fritz Durst, a fourth-generation rice farmer, worries that California rice buyers would come to see his region as an unreliable supplier.
He, too, hedged his bets. He is growing rice on about 60 percent of his 527 acres, which enables him to sell the Sacramento River water he would have used on the rest.
But there’s a long-term risk, as he sees it, in selling too much water, too often. “You also have people here who are concerned that we’re setting a dangerous precedent,” he said. “If we start allowing our water to go south of the Delta, those people are going to say, ‘Well, you don’t need that water. It’s ours now.’”
Fish vs. Field
Federico Barajas is in the unenviable position of having to find water. As the manager of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, he has negotiated a deal to buy from water districts like Mr. Durst’s.
There’s just one problem: Because the rivers are so hot and dry this year, the federal government, which runs the Shasta Dam, where cold Sacramento River water is stored, has said the water needs to stay in the reservoir through the summer months for another source of food: fish that hatch in California’s rivers.
He’s not accepting defeat. “We’re still looking for anybody out there who has any drop of water we can purchase and transfer,” he said gamely.
Nearby, off Interstate 5, Joe Del Bosque had been counting on that rice water from the north. It’s how he’s survived the droughts of the past, he said. “This is the worst year we’ve had,” Mr. Del Bosque said.
Mr. Del Bosque grew up working on melon farms with his farmworker father. Today, Mr. Del Bosque owns a melon farm near the town of Firebaugh. He grows organic cantaloupes and watermelons on most of his 2,000 acres, destined for supermarket shelves nationwide. The license plate on his GMC truck reads “MELONS.”
This year, he’s left a third of his land fallow. There’s just not enough water. He had planted asparagus on a few fields, too, only to pull it out. A neighbor pulled out his almonds.
History Shaped by Water
The hot, dry San Joaquin Valley became cotton farms at the turn of the 20th century, at the time with water flowing from the north through fields of alfalfa and then strawberries and grapes. Almonds took over as prices soared. And with more demands on the surface water flowing through the river — to maintain river flows, for instance, or flush seawater out of the California Delta — farmers turned increasingly to the water under their land.
It provides 40 percent of the water for California agriculture in a normal year, and far more in dry years. In parts of the state, chiefly in the San Joaquin Valley, at the southern end of the Central Valley, more groundwater is taken out than nature can replenish.
Now, for the first time, under the state’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, growers in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley face restrictions on how much water they can pump. That is set to transform the landscape. If you can’t pump as much water from under the ground, you simply can’t farm as much land in the San Joaquin Valley.
“There’s just no way around that,” said Eric Limas, the son of farmers who now manages one of the most depleted irrigated districts, called Pixley, a checkerboard of almond orchards and dairies. “The numbers just don’t add up.”
So thoroughly have aquifers been depleted that farmers are now investing millions of dollars to put water back into the ground. They’re buying land that can absorb the rains. They’re creating ponds and ditches, carving up the landscape, again, to restore the groundwater squandered for so long.
“That is the single biggest water system adaptation we can do — getting more water into the ground,” said Ellen Hanak, director of the water policy center at the Public Policy Institute of California.
Meanwhile, towns in the Central Valley are beginning to run out of municipal water, including Teviston, just south of Mr. Limas’s office, where town officials have been delivering bottled water to 1,200 residents for nearly two weeks.
From Almond Trees to Solar Arrays
Stuart Woolf embodies the changing landscape of the San Joaquin Valley.
Mr. Woolf took over his father’s farm, headquartered in Huron, in 1986, retired most of the cotton his dad grew, switched to tomatoes, bought a factory that turns his tomatoes into tomato paste for ketchup. His operations expanded across 25,000 acres. Its highest value crop: almonds.
Mr. Woolf now sees the next change coming. The rice water from the north won’t come when he needs it. The groundwater restrictions will soon limit his ability to pump.
He has ripped out 400 acres of almonds. He’s not sure he will replant them anytime soon. In the coming years, he estimates he will stop growing on 30 to 40 percent of his land.
He has left one field bare to serve as a pond to recharge the aquifer, bought land in the north, where the water is, close to Mr. Fiack’s rice fields. Now, he is considering replacing some of his crops with another source of revenue altogether: a solar farm, from which he can harvest energy to sell back to the grid.
“Look, I’m a farmer in California. The tools we had to manage drought are getting limited,” he said. “I’ve got to fallow a lot of my ranch.”
Last week, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rt. Hon. George Eustice, hosted California agricultural stakeholders for roundtable discussion on trade and climate. California and the United Kingdom share many priorities on international trade, climate change policy and sustainability. A strong bilateral trade relationship provides opportunities for sustainable growth and good jobs for workers in both countries.
The UK is California’s fourth largest agricultural export destination in the European Union, valued at more than $455 million. Top agricultural exports to the market include wine, tree nuts and dried fruit.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new resources to inform consumers on how to reduce food waste during the July Fourth holiday and beyond.
According to USDA research, the average family of four wastes nearly $1,500 worth of food each year. And the food that goes in the trash winds up in a landfill where it creates methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
On July Fourth and all summer long, USDA encourages consumers to use four simple steps to reduce food waste at home. Plan ahead – Before you go to the grocery store or order online, make a list so you don’t buy more than you need. Serve smart – portion control is good for your waistline, and good for reducing plate waste. Love your leftovers – Pack leftovers in small portions in shallow containers, mark the contents and date, and refrigerate or freeze immediately. Compost, don’t trash – Food in landfills produces harmful methane. You can recycle your food scraps in a home compost bin or at a local compost center.
In the middle of California’s drought, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is meeting with landowners, Tribal representatives, and agencies to assess resource concerns and offer assistance to farmers and ranchers, as well as, forest and Tribal land managers. Programs through NRCS include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the newest pilot program, EQIP-Conservation Incentive Contracts (EQIP-CIC).
“Although we still have CDC coronavirus related health precautions in place for the safety of our customers and employees, we strongly encourage you to call the nearest office and schedule an appointment,” said Carlos Suarez, NRCS California state conservationist. “Our field conservationists are available to assess your resource concerns and we have a variety of conservation practices and programs to help agricultural producers.”
The new pilot program, EQIP-CIC, can provide long-term support to address drought on agricultural and other lands. NRCS is taking applications throughJuly 12 and encourages interested land managers to contact their local offices for more information.
Specifically through this new pilot program (EQIP-CIC), six high priority areas were identified:
1. San Joaquin Valley (cropland);
2. Statewide (cropland);
3. Klamath Basin (cropland);
4. Statewide (range, pasture);
5. Statewide (forest); and
6. Statewide Tribal Land (cropland, range, pasture, forest).
In addition to these high priority areas, NRCS conservationists are available to discuss best conservation practices and enhancements for cropland, rangeland, forestland, pastureland, and tribal land, which can result in development of a conservation plan. A conservation plan is a roadmap to the natural resources stewardship of your land that helps you to successfully implement your conservation improvements.
NRCS can help you develop a plan that is right for your operation. Starting with healthy soil as the foundation of a healthy environment, landowners can use mulching or cover crops to minimize erosion and improve soil health. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, landowners would also be able to receive reimbursement for their efforts to decrease tillage intensity and increase plant-available moisture, for example, with complimentary practices.
Plants are the natural solution for many conservation challenges. For example, landowners can install hedgerow and other plantings to establish multi-purpose wildlife habitat. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, land managers could receive reimbursement for planting cover crops for pollinators while improving soil health and for planting trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs to create habitat for beneficial insects and Monarch butterflies, while reducing soil erosion or improving livestock well being.
As a western drought state, California landowners may reduce risks of wildfires while protecting homes and communities by using conservation practices such as brush management, fuel break, woody residue treatment, and forest stand improvement. With the new pilot EQIP-CIC, landowners would also be able to receive reimbursement to continue the longer term management of these best conservation practices for reducing the height and density of forest understory to limit wildfire risk.
Landowners can efficiently use water resources by implementing practices such as irrigation ditch lining, irrigation pipeline, or micro irrigation. Through the new pilot, irrigation scheduling technology can be included in a conservation plan to help farmers explore new technology with agricultural innovations to help decrease energy and water use.
For more information on the new pilot EQIP-CIC and the July 12, 2021 application deadline, contact a local field office to schedule an appointment. Our office locator is available at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/ca/contact/.
Outreach to those interested in cannabis licensing will continue at the Department of Cannabis Control.
BY CDFA Secretary Karen Ross
With July 1 and the new fiscal year comes the consolidation of the state’s cannabis programs into the Department of Cannabis Control — part of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. That means the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division of CDFA will be moving to the new Department. It has been an honor to work with the talented, dedicated CalCannabis professionals who have worked so hard to stand-up a brand new program to support a newly legalized industry these past five years. I want to recognize their achievements which – by the numbers – are impressive!
— 7,632 currently active cultivation licenses
— Completed 485 fee deferrals of license renewal fees due to impacts from the pandemic and wildfires
— Responded to more than 75,000 public inquiries via telephone
— Provided training on the state licensing process and procedures to more than 140 local jurisdictions that allow commercial cannabis cultivation
— Collaborated with more than 70 local jurisdictions to craft locale-specific CEQA pathways for annual licensure
In addition, the program has created a virtual library of reference material for applicants, licensees, and local jurisdictions covering topics such as how create a premises diagram and CEQA documentation.
Governor Newsom announced plans to consolidate the three state licensing entities into a single Department in January 2020 in an effort to improve access to licensing and simplify regulatory oversight of commercial cannabis activity. Establishment of a stand-alone department with an enforcement arm will centralize and align critical areas to build a successful legal cannabis market, by creating a single point of contact for cannabis licensees and local governments. The CalCannabis appellations program and the OCal organic program will remain part of CDFA.
Thank you to CalCannabis Division Director Richard Parrot and the entire CalCannabis team for your innovative, enthusiastic “can-do” spirit to help California cannabis growers through the regulatory maze of legalization. I am so proud of what you have accomplished and wish you continued success in your new home at the Department of Cannabis Control.
Drugs, artwork, luxury watches. If there’s a high value good, there’s a black market for it.
But nuts?
Organized agricultural crime rings have long targeted California’s pistachio and almond growers, and theft is becoming more of a serious concern as production has increased in recent years.
Just a few weeks into the early summer growing season, California’s Tulare County reported its first tree nut crime of the year. A truck driver was charged with stealing 42,000 pounds of pistachios with the intent to resell them in smaller bags. The nuts didn’t travel far — investigators said they discovered his tractor trailer filled with over $170,000 worth of cargo in a nearby lot.
A theft involving thousands of dollars’ worth of pistachios may seem outlandish. And indeed the California’s man’s arrest went viral. But it wasn’t a standalone caper.
Nut Thieves Are Increasingly Sophisticated
Nuts are a big deal in California. Growing conditions — dry, rain-free summers — are ideal. The state is the top nut grower in the U.S. leading the way in almonds, pistachios and walnuts.
Almonds alone brought in $6 billion in 2019. They are the state’s second-most valuable farm commodity, trailing only dairy products. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates the 2021 almond crop will become the largest on record.
“When there’s value and increased value, there’s going to be some illicit activities around or people trying to make a quicker, easier dollar,” says Joseph England, a sergeant with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Nuts are remarkably suitable for the black market trade. Of course, they don’t have serial numbers or QR codes. They’re less perishable than other crops. So thieves can store them for lengthy periods of time. And pricy pistachios are a tempting target, more valuable per pound than other crops, according to Richard Matoian, president of the American Pistachio Growers.
Losses From Nut Thefts Are Crushing For Growers
Stealing nuts is not an easy business, and thieves have become more sophisticated over time, says England.
For a nut to go from tree to table, there’s a lot of moving logistics involved. After coming off the tree, nuts must be cleaned, pasteurized, roasted or seasoned. Each step is normally completed at a different facility, which makes nut cargo more vulnerable to theft.
To prevent heists facilities have installed surveillance cameras and specialized tags on trucks. But thieves can still outwit growers: it’s not uncommon for thieves to hack into trucking companies’ computer systems, generate fake load orders and leave with thousands of dollars’ worth of cargo, England says.
Losses from large-scale nut thefts are crushing to farmers, says Don Stuhmer, the president of the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force and a deputy with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
“Every load of nuts for these farmers is very important. They’re chasing that bottom line, and that bottom line is getting thinner and thinner,” Stuhmer says.
Tamarixia radiata, a tiny stingless wasp utilized in the Asian citrus psyllid/huanglongbing program
By Dusty Baker
A deadly citrus tree disease is resulting in the release of beneficial wasps in San Luis Obispo County.
Citrus trees have been under attack from the tree disease Huanglongbing (HLB). To combat HLB, a series of wasp releases are taking place this week in the county.
“Relatively recently we’ve been doing releases in San Luis Obispo County and that’s because the insects are slowly moving north,” said California Department of Food and Agriculture Environmental Program Manager David Morgan.
“In San Luis Obispo, we’ve had a few infestations of the Asian Citrus Psyllid and we probably have had three, four or five releases of these wasps throughout the county,” said San Luis Obispo County Agricultural Commissioner Martin Settevendemie.
The releases of Tamarixia, also considered small wasps, will take place periodically this week.
“Around the Nipomo area, there were a small number of insects identified a few years ago and so we know that the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been there in the past,” Morgan said.
“Our department will help to release them where the wasp will have the greatest impact on the pest,” Settevendemie added.
Thousands of these beneficial wasps are being released to fight the Asian Citrus Psyllid that carries HLB.
“The insects we release are actually better at finding the pests than we are,” Morgan said.
“We’re not finding a lot of these pests in the county, so our hope is we keep these populations down so we don’t have a bigger problem in the future,” Settevendemie said.
The Tamarixia is considered environmentally friendly in urban areas and will only attack the Asian Citrus Psyllids. “We’re protecting our local landscapes. Almost everybody has a citrus tree in their yard and if we can protect the county from the Asian Citrus Psyllid, we’re also protecting the community and their landscape plans,” Settevendemie said.
A release of these wasps can be anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 wasps a day in the affected areas. They’re incredibly small and cannot bite or sting people.
The releases have taken place for the last decade, protecting commercially grown citrus, which contributes $7 billion to the state’s economy.
Farmer Aldo Gonzalez at his field in Monterey County. Photo from FarmLink
Farm Credit news release
Over the past seven years, former farmworker Aldo Gonzalez has expanded his farm business from five to 44 acres, helped by annual operating loans from California FarmLink, an Aptos-based nonprofit that since 2013 has also operated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
He grew up on a family farm growing vegetables in Oaxaca, Mexico, and as a farmworker in the U.S. was determined to have his own business. Now, Gonzalez Organic Farms in Monterey County specializes in growing strawberries, which he sells at farmers markets in Cupertino, San Juan Bautista, Oakland and Sunnyvale, and is also a valued grower for large strawberry shippers.
Gonzalez is just one of a growing number of Latino farmworkers who have become successful farmers in the U.S., said Reggie Knox, FarmLink’s executive director.
“The overall number of farms is going down, while the proportion of Latino farmers is going up,” Knox said. “We want to serve this community and see it as important for the future of farming in California.”
In fact, the USDA Agricultural Census found there are more than 14,000 registered Latino farmers and ranchers in California, and Latino farmers are growing at twice the rate of traditional farmers despite being historically underserved.
As part of its ongoing commitment to encourage diversity in agriculture, Farm Credit has sponsored FarmLink and its annual Farm Finance Expo, held virtually in late 2020. Supporting Farm Credit institutions American Ag Credit, CoBank, Farm Credit West and Fresno Madera Farm Credit are part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, the largest provider of credit to American agriculture.
Knox said the support of Farm Credit and other sponsors is essential to FarmLink’s success.
“The earned income we get from making loans is not enough to support operations, so we supplement that with grants and sponsorships,” he said. “We appreciate the support from Farm Credit.”
Keith Hesterberg, President and CEO of Fresno Madera Farm Credit, noted that FarmLink has expanded its efforts in the Fresno area.
“FarmLink is now working with a number of small-scale Hmong farmers in the Fresno area, and as part of Farm Credit’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion we applaud FarmLink’s efforts and look forward to working with these beginning farmers in the future,” he said.
Mark Littlefield, President and CEO of Farm Credit West, said supporting FarmLink is just one way Farm Credit supports diversity in agriculture.
“For the past six years, Farm Credit has also been a proud sponsor of the Latino Farmer Conference, which drew some 300 participants in 2019, before COVID-19, and returned this year with a series of webinars,” Littlefield said. “Nurturing beginning farmers is part of our mission and we’re happy to support FarmLink’s work.”
Knox said since establishing the CDFI, FarmLink has loaned $31 million to more than 300 borrowers, 60% of whom are Latino and between 30- and 35% are women.
FarmLink works closely with ALBA – the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association – an incubator program in the Salinas Valley that provides land and support for beginning farmers. During the six-month course, ALBA provides a half-acre of land to learn to grow crops on. Once the farmer graduates, FarmLink comes in.
“When the beginning Latino farmer comes out of the incubator, we may help them with their first lease and provide an initial operating loan of $10,000 to $20,000 to get started. The next year the farmer may require $25,000 to $50,000 to scale up. Whenever possible, those leases include a first right of refusal for the farmer to purchase the property, because we encourage people to build a pathway to ownership so their businesses can generate multi-generational wealth,” he said.
Knox added that he believes Farm Credit can help farmers achieve that goal.
“Farm Credit is the largest lender across the country, helping farmers of all sizes. We really appreciate the partnership and hope to work closely with its associations in the future, to make sure they are there when farmers graduate from our programs and are in need of a larger loan,” he said.
