{"id":11817,"date":"2016-11-10T09:26:46","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T16:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=11817"},"modified":"2016-11-10T09:27:27","modified_gmt":"2016-11-10T16:27:27","slug":"central-valley-farmers-grow-quality-tomatoes-with-half-the-nitrogen-and-a-third-less-water-from-the-usdas-natural-resources-conservation-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2016\/11\/10\/central-valley-farmers-grow-quality-tomatoes-with-half-the-nitrogen-and-a-third-less-water-from-the-usdas-natural-resources-conservation-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Valley farmers grow quality tomatoes with half the nitrogen and a third less water – from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tomatoes\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How do you cut your water use by a third, cut your nitrogen use in half, maintain your tomato yield and improve your fruit quality?\u00a0 \u201cWith patience, perseverance and by treating your soil like a living ecosystem–which it is,\u201d says Jesse Sanchez.<\/p>\n

Sanchez should know. He and Alan Sano have been experimenting with soil enhancements for 15 years on Sano Farms in Firebaugh.\u00a0 They believe they have hit upon a winning strategy\u2014though their experiments continue.<\/p>\n

Today, they grow 50 ton per acre tomatoes with half of the nitrogen (120 units) and a third less water than before.\u00a0 They also report fewer weeds and better tomato quality.<\/p>\n

The soil organic matter (SOM)\u2014the living portion of the soil that turns crop residue into minerals needed by growing plants\u2014has gone from 0.5 percent to 3.0 percent, report Sano and Sanchez. \u00a0\u201cThe soil is like day and night,\u201d says Sanchez.\u00a0 \u201cYou can dig it with your hands,\u201d he says, cupping a handful to prove his point.<\/p>\n

So how do you transition largely inert soil into the ecological powerhouse found on Sano Farms?<\/p>\n

Cover crops, reduced equipment passes, and subsurface irrigation have been key, according to Jeff Mitchell<\/a>\u00a0, UC Cooperative Extension specialist based at the\u00a0UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0These practices combine to feed and protect the soil microorganisms often ignored in agricultural systems. Mitchell has been coaching the Sano\/Sanchez team for over 10 years, witnessing their progress and connecting them with like-minded farmers and organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers sometimes worry that cover crops will compete with the cash crop for water and nutrients,\u201d says Mitchell.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see at Sano Farms — looking long term\u2014that the tradeoffs might actually be favorable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanchez says he terminates the cover crop before the tomatoes are planted, leaving the dead residue to smother weeds and feed the soil microorganisms.<\/p>\n

The SOM also builds the sponge that allows the farm to thrive on less water, says Zahangir Kabir, Soil Health Specialist with USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). \u201cA one percent increase in SOM builds your soil\u2019s ability to hold water by 19,000 to 25,000 gallons per acre. Thus, calculating conservatively, Sano Farms\u2019 fields hold 50,000 gallons of water more per acre than they did before.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can see this in action at Sano farms. \u201cWhen it rains here the water soaks into the field. It stays put,\u201d says Sanchez.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t run off like some farms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanchez, who received a White House Champions of Change Award<\/em> last summer, says he knows farmers resist change.\u00a0\u201cBut we can\u2019t stop change,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s all around us. If they (farmers) do change the way they work with their soil, they are going to like what they see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sanchez will be a featured speaker at the second annual Latino Farmers Conference taking place on Nov. 15 at the Monterey Hyatt Regency. The event is free but registration is required.<\/a><\/p>\n

To see Alan Sano and Jesse Sanchez at Sano Farms in Firebaugh watch the YouTube video<\/a><\/p>\n

Link to news release<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How do you cut your water use by a third, cut your nitrogen use in half, maintain your tomato yield and improve your fruit quality?\u00a0 \u201cWith patience, perseverance and by treating your soil like a living ecosystem–which it is,\u201d says … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\r\nCentral Valley farmers grow quality tomatoes with half the nitrogen and a third less water - from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation 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