How the Drought is Impacting Our Farms - Gonzaga Farms

Ronnie Gonzaga had a long and successful career in construction as a general contractor and Tess Gonzaga began her career in the medical field as an RN. They founded Gonzaga Farms in July 2001 with the idea of bringing a high quality of fresh and unique produce to the Southern California community at competitive prices. Their mission is to help create a stronger community by providing nutritional education to consumers while encouraging them to eat healthy organic food.

They have 4 sites and 3 different wells but in the city of LA, historically it has been cheaper to buy water than to use the electricity to pump from their wells.  Pumping costs twice as much with electricity rates being so high within the City of LA.  Now the city water is no longer available except in the case of emergency.  They have had to make deposits on emergency supplies. It used to be $158 an acre, now it is $1200.   It’s getting to the point where they can’t sell enough fruit to make the money needed to afford the water. They can buy outside water but it is 180% more expensive.

They use micro sprinklers next to the trees to irrigate.  These shoot water efficiently just to the crucial point that feeds the root.  When it rains they can wait two weeks to water.  

They have new trees to plant but aren't doing it yet because they fear not having enough water.  If things don't improve, they may have to let those trees just decompose and die.

How the Drought is Impacting Our Farms - Arnett Farms

For over 103 years the Arnett Family has been operating one of the best farms in California. Arnett Farms, located in Fresno, grows over 200 different varieties of stone fruits, citrus, and berries, as well as apples and persimmons.

Normally their water comes from surface irrigation from nearby lakes with pumps.   Today, those lakes are at 15-17% capacity. When they can’t get surface irrigation, they use their wells, which is much more expensive. This year, 90% to 100% of their water will come from the wells. They are working to upgrade the wells, but so is every other farm in the area and the service providers are back up 2 to 3 months. It’s a race to get the wells upgraded in time for the summer water needs. 

This is the worst year of drought in Scott’s lifetime - going into the 3rd year of little rain with no drainage carry over to replenish their ground water.  They are trying to convert to drip irrigation – most farms have stayed with surface irrigation in the past because it replenishes the ground water.

They are still in a major crisis despite the little bit of rain we have had recently.  All they can do is their best to get their wells in shape and hope that it rains.  

How the Drought is Impacting Our Farms - Fat Uncle Farms

The Water Wise Expo at the Mar Vista Farmers' Market will share how the drought is impacting the farms we rely on. 

Fat Uncle Farms is worried about keeping trees alive that have been in the family two generations. They are a very small, second generation, family farm in Wasco. They have been told that they can't have any water from the water district this year.  So they are in "wait and see" mode as they pray for rain. 

They still have some left from last year but once they run out they will be dependent upon neighbors who are willing to sell them water.  Rebecca Siemens of Fat Uncle says she is worried the neighbors will not sell them any this year - several of them have dug deeper wells - dropped 500 feet - and hit bedrock!  Because of this, they may hold all they have out of fear.  

In Kern County the water feeds from a reservoir in the Sierras which is now at 10% capacity. Allotments are based on prior usage - in a severe drought year a small farm may not get any because of the percentage rule.

How The Drought Is Impacting Our Farms - The Garden Of...

Photo from LA Times 

We all know The Garden of..... and Debby and Shu Takikawa from our Sundays at the market. Maybe you read the wonderful profile on them in the LA Times, Market Watch: Takikawas' the Garden of ..... connects the dots to quality. 

They are very careful with the amount of water they use - Shu has always felt that over-watering is very bad for the health of the plants and his conservation of water is one of the cornerstones of his basic farming method. Still, their water use for 70 acres of farmland is 30,000 cubic feet per month on average. Normally, this time of year they can rely on rain to supply all of their irrigation needs. This year, their water bill is over $1,000 a month. More important, the plants prefer rainfall and grow better and soil needs rainfall to wash away the saline buildup of groundwater use, especially this time of year. 

Wild life and plant life is affected all around them, and this also impacts their farm and the way that they feel. It seems like the drought is a symptom of an environmental imbalance, and since their farming practice is based on harmony with nature, this feeling of imbalance affects their ability to maintain equilibrium.

Currently they have stopped growing vegetables that require large amounts of water, for example celery. If there is not enough water to farm with they will be forced to stop farming – while big agricultural continues. That would be a heartbreaking loss for all of us.