I just returned from agricultural tour to California. It was wonderful to see the diversity of agricultural commodities that they had to offer. It was odd was that while I was out west visiting this state that was in their fourth year of drought, Angelina County was flooding. 

Irrigation water was the main concern for the every agricultural food producer we met.  Yet, with their incredible reliance upon irrigation, it was hard to notice any impact the drought had made.  If we go months without rain (as was the case in our 2011 drought) ponds dry up and pastures wither.  Being in the year four of a drought didn’t show as much damage as I thought it might.

 

There were two livestock producers that we met with.  One had a small sideline hay and sheep operation on 50 acres.   His “day job” was as a welding instructor at a nearby high school.  He irrigated and baled alfalfa mixed with timothy grass.  They used a sprinkler irrigation system on the hay crop that depended completely on water taken from a nearby well.  He fed his sheep the most beautiful, high quality hay I’ve seen and sold the excess hay along with the lamb crop. 

 

The other livestock producer was a multi-generation cattleman raised cattle all his life.  He was currently flood irrigating his pastures.  He sells his cattle as “natural” beef thru the Whole Foods grocery chain.

 

I next toured a rice processing plant as well as walnut and almond orchards.  I didn’t expect to see rice fields on our tour, but they worked well on the poorer soils they had.  The local mill processed a very refined, much sought after rice that was sold worldwide.

The almonds and walnuts were every bit of what I expected to see. 

 

The intensive management and care that took place on these farms was impressive.  I thought it was an interesting comparison in Californian agriculture.  They have so many expenses: land, water, extensive start-up costs, professional crop management, and lots of labor to harvest most crops.  At the same time they do have a climate and (presently) enough water to make tremendous crop yields. Ultimately, there can be a large economic return to farmers and ranchers.  Only, that is, if you have enough money to first enter the game.

 

And yes, we did see plenty of vineyards.  Touring a few in Sonoma County, they have almost utilized every acre of suitable farm land for this crop.  High input with great potential for even higher output has made Sonoma County and neighboring Napa County the two richest counties in the world.  At least, that is what one vineyard owner told us.

 

Years ago you would plant the rows of grapes just wide enough for a tractor to get through to care for the trellised grapes.  Today, with the incredible high price of land and potential returns on wine grapes, rows are planted much closer and managed much more intensively.  The newer row widths now would only allow for a 4-wheeler to get through. 

And yes, water is still their linchpin.  At this moment, many in the California state government are looking to undue years of water rights held by agricultural producers.  The urban population, well removed from the production of food, wants lush green lawns and swimming pools full of water.  The surface water and rivers that flow to the population centers are being stretched thin.

 

Interestingly, groundwater (what you pull up out of a well) is not currently regulated in California.  Their rules regarding ground water is still the “rule of capture,” e.g. the one with the deepest well and the biggest pump gets the water. 

 

Texas changed groundwater laws over 10 years ago after Ozarka drilled a deep well with which to bottle water and ran a small family farm dry north of Athens in Henderson County.

 

The company purchased an acre or two next to family farm and dropped a large volume well into some of the best groundwater in the region to bottle and sell. The fact that the family’s well was sucked dry was perfectly legal!  Ozarka was indeed well within their rights to pump all the water they could get under the former Texas laws. 

 

While we certainly have our own challenges, it’s interesting to see what others have.  For our own folks, rain is a double-edged sword right now.  While you can’t do without it, we certainly have more than enough right now!

 

Lane Dunn is the County Extension Agent for agriculture and natural resources for Shelby County. His email address is jldunn@ag.tamu.edu.

Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age, or national origin.